The Other Gray
by Seventeenforeverxoxo
Summary: When Shane, Nate and Jason left their hometown to become Connect 3 they left something very important behind. Now they're back and desparate to make it up to her. But 7 years is a long time-people and relationships change. But can these friends handle it?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Okay this is my new story "The Othe Gray" I hope you like it!**

**I don't own Camp Rock (woah it feels weird writing that! Usually i write HSM!) or any of the characters except the ones I have created and the plot.**

* * *

**_Prologue_**

"Ermm... Shane? What's going on?" Layla-Jayne Winter Gray asked hesitantly as her brother Shane drove up the gravel driveway to an amazing white house surrounded by flower beds and and massive trees whose leaves moved around in the light breeze creating a _whooshing_ sound. As they pulled up the driveway Layla was surprised that this place existed just a couple of miles away from the grotty concrete estate she and Shane had lived in her whole live.

Shane didn't answer her instead he turned off the engine and got out of the car before signaling for Layla to do the same.

Once she was out he grabbed his guitar from the back and locked the car.

"Come on. I wanna show you something."

He grabbed her hand and led her around the back of the house. As beautiful as the front of the house was it was nothing compared to the back.

There was nothing for miles other than fields, flowers and trees. To one side there was an orchard and on the other was a little section with all different types of crazy things growing there from cabbages to roses.

"Wow!" Layla whispered, almost as if she spoke too loudly it would all disappear. "This place is amazing!"

"I thought you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it!" Layla exclaimed.

Shane smiled a little at the look of pure happiness on his little sisters' face. She'd always loved nature even when she was little.

Their mother was originally from Ireland where Shane had been born and lived for the first 6 years of his life. After they moved to America and a few years after Layla was born her family would pay for them to fly out and visit them.

By this time Shane was older and he found it very boring compared to life back in America. Sure he loved it there and easily fell back into the old routine and accent he had possessed before leaving but he resented that he had to spend half his summer in Dublin and the other half in the heart of the Irish countryside surrounded by nothing but tiny villages, fields and livestock. He'd rather be back in America hanging out with Jason and Nate playing his guitar.

Layla on the other hand loved every second of it, enjoying the difference between the city and the countryside. She would often spend her days running around outside, exploring and sightseeing while Shane preferred to spend it inside watching from afar, texting his friends back home.

When Layla was 7 and Shane was 14 (almost 15) their mother became ill and the trips to Ireland stopped. Cooped up in their lifeless concrete estate Shane began to notice that Layla also became lifeless so (with the occasional help of their mum when she felt up to it and their friends) Shane created a miniature oasis for her on the balcony complete with all different types of plants, a small butterfly enclosure and a birdhouse made by him and his best friends/band mates (Jason and Nate Carter who lived in the apartment across the hall with their older sister Sandy) just for her.

She loved it and spent every day out there, even more so when she turned 10 and their mother died. It was where she could remember the times when she would run around the countryside with her mum without a care in the world, happy and carefree-something neither she nor Shane had been in a long time.

Right here right now Shane could see that after all those years of concrete slabs this was her idea of heaven and that in turn made him happy.

"I love it Shane." She said finally tearing her eyes away to look at her brother "but why are we here?"

The smile disappeared from Shane's face and he was suddenly brought back to reality. A reality he didn't want to deal with.

"Ah well.." He began.

"Oh!Mr Gray! You're here!"

The brother and sister duo turned around to see a woman walking towards them, waving enthusiastically.

She was wearing bright blue skinny jeans and a plain white t shirt which complemented her curves. Her long blonde hair was waving in the breeze and she wore a warm smile that lit up her whole face. From far away she looked like she was in her late twenties early thirties and generally looked like an all around nice person, giving off an air of confidence and friendliness as she got closer to them which calmed Layla slightly although she was still wary of this new intruder who had interrupted her brother.

Layla turned to Shane, confused as he swore slightly under his breath, running a hand through his hair.

"How does she know who you are?" Layla asked.

She knew everyone that Shane knew and vice versa so why was this strange lady she had never even seen before talking to her brother like he knew her?

By this time the woman had reached them and was standing next to Layla. She smiled at her and Layla offered her a weak lopsided smile in return before moving closer to Shane and hiding behind him slightly, grabbing his arm tightly (something she had done since she was tiny).

"Who is she?" Layla whispered nervously.

"Sh-She's... erm she's...rrr"

Seeing that Shane was having problems forming a proper sentence the strange woman stepped in.

"Sweetie Mr Gray is the one who decided you should stay here." She answered for him placing her hands on Layla's shoulders.

Layla moved away from her brother to look at her wide eyed as Shane swore again, only slightly louder this time using language she's never heard from him before.

"Wait a minute stay where?" Layla asked. She was now not only confused but scared about what was happening.

The woman giggled and lightly slapped Layla's shoulder jokingly.

"Your brother warned me you were going to be a handful but I think you'll fit in well here!"

"What do you mean fit in well here!" Layla yelled her anger getting the better of her momentarily. "I don't even know where _here_ is!"

The smile on the woman's face faltered.

"You mean you don't know?"

"I was just about to tell her when you showed up." Shane hissed and the woman's face went pale.

Layla turned around to face her brother.

"Tell me what Shane? What is this place?"

"Sunflower House." He mumbled, his head down unable to look her in the eye.

Layla stared at him in shock. Not wanting to believe the words coming out of his mouth.

"Did you just Sunflower House? As in the children's home Sunflower house?"

Shane nodded, looking at his shoes refusing to look up at her.

"No!" Layla shouted, shaking her head violently as she stepped away from her brother

"I won't go! You can't make me Shane! You said I wouldn't have to go into care, that you, Jase and Nate were gonna look after me!"

"I have no choice Layla!" Shane said desperately looking up from the floor to see Layla's angry face stained with tears. " Now Mum's dead I'm your only living relative and I'm only 17! I thought I could do it and I tried, I really tried but I can't! I can't look after you on my own and it's not far to ask the Carter's to help. Sandy's already finding it hard keeping an eye on Nate and Jason.Also with Connect 3 becoming popular we're gonna be away a lot and..."

"You don't want me anymore." Layla spat angrily.

"That's not true and you know it." Shane spat back, angry that she would even think that. They had always been there for each other and even with the 7 (almost 8) year age gap they had been best friends, in fact the age difference had made them stronger. Where one was the other wasn't far behind. They were so close that the thought of living their lives separated from each other was unthinkable so Layla just couldn't understand why he would do this, not only to her but to himself as well.

Suddenly an idea formed in her head. Excited she was about to open her mouth and say something when Shane stopped her.

"No Layla. I know what you're thinking and you can't."

"Why they're my family..."

"They are not you're family!" Shane yelled his anger showing as hints of the accent he had picked up in Ireland coming though in his speech- Something that only happened when he was seriously angry. He couldn't believe that she would even think of contacting them let alone living with them!

"I'm your family. I may be you're half brother but I am more a part of you than they will ever be! I am your family not them so don't even think about contacting them in any way! They will never be your family. Do you understand?"

She nodded slightly as tears came to her eyes.

Feeling ashamed for even mentioning her father and his family who disowned her before she was even born she dropped her stare and looked at her shoes scuffing them on the ground as she tried to control the tears that were slowly rolling down her face.

"If you're my family then why are you leaving me?" She whispered softly, so softly that Shane almost didn't hear her.

His expression soon changed and his anger disappeared in an instant.

"I'm sorry Layla I really am." Shane whispered his voice changing back to the soft tones she had grown up with instead of the harsh ones he had used a second ago.

When Layla looked up a couple of minutes later there were tears streaming down her face.

"Please don't leave me here." She said desperately, causing Shane's heart to break as he knelt down to look her in the eyes.

"I'm sorry L, I have to." He said softly as he wiped her tears away. "But I next year when I turn 18 I promise I'll come back for you."

"Promise?"

"Here's my promise." Shane said taking his guitar case off his back and handing it back to Layla. It was his lucky guitar.

He inherited it from his father when he died 14 years ago and Shane had been playing it since before Layla could even remember.

"But Shane it's your lucky guitar you never go anywhere without it." She gasped, shocked that he would even think of doing something like this.

He nodded in agreement.

"I know that's why I'm giving it to you to keep safe until I come back."

Layla sniffled as she took the guitar off him and Shane sighed, wiping a couple of stray tears away before standing up again.

"It'll only be for a year. I promise."

Layla looked at him and started chewing the inside of her mouth ( a sign that she was thinking hard) before holding out her pinky finger.

"Pinky swear." She stated firmly. "I won't believe you until you pinky swear."

Shane chuckled slightly at this before hooking his little finger around Layla's.

"I swear."


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay so this is the first chapter! Yay! Hope you like it**

**Like usual I own none of the characters, actors, actresses etc just the characters I've created and the plot.**

* * *

Chapter 1

"Ah so you finally showed up." The blonde woman frowned as she lent against the door frame and stared down her nose at the young man in front of her.

"Nice to see you again too Cassie." He said dryly as he looked at her over the top of his shades and walked into the house. "Is she in?"

The woman tutted and shut the door behind her.

"What do you think?" She snapped as she led him to the small kitchen around the back. "It's 3pm. She's still at school."

"Oh."

She sighed as she flicked the kettle on and started rummaging around in the cupboards searching for mugs that weren't chipped. Not that she wanted to impress this young man, if anything she wanted him to leave and never come back, but the hostess in her told her to make the best of a bad situation and at least make him feel comfortable while he waited.

"She'll be back in 15 minutes then you can ruin her life.. again."

The man groaned.

"Cassie I'm not going to ruin her life.." He saw the woman's pointed glance as she plonked the cup of coffee down in front of him, causing some of the contents to spill over the side and stain the wooden table underneath.

He sighed.

"Okay so I might have screwed things up a little in the past but I'm here now. I wanna make things right."

She stared at him for a minute trying to read his expression and trying to work out what he was playing at. Once she worked out he was telling the truth her face softened a little and she reached across the table to grab his hand.

"I'm glad you're back Shane. I think you're just what she needs right now."

He smiled at her slightly before squeezing her hand back gratefully. He felt so much better now he had the support of Cassandra Hansen.

Cassie had been such an important part of his life although he hadn't seen her in just over 7 years. If it wasn't for Cassie Shane wasn't sure what he would have done. She looked after one of the most important things in his life when he couldn't ...no matter how much he wanted to.

Although it had been such a long time ago he remembered that day like it was yesterday, permanently imprinted on his brain. He knew it was the right thing to do even back then and still stood by that decision now. He was 17 years old on the edge of becoming one of the biggest names on music and grieving the loss of his mother. He could barely look after himself (which became clearer over the years) let alone a 10 year old girl. It was one of the hardest decisions of his life and now years later he was back on track and aged 25 had returned to make things right again, to relieve some of that guilt he felt every day even if he didn't show it all the time. He knew that he had broken his promise by not showing up 6 years ago but now he had a chance to fix it.

* * *

"He's a bit young for you isn't he Cassie?"

Shane was brought out of his trance when he heard high pitched giggling and turned around to see a girl with short dark blonde hair standing in the doorway, a smirk stretched across her eccentrically made up face.

Behind her stood another girl. This one looked slightly older and had jet black hair with electric blue streaks through it.

Holding her hand tightly was a little boy not much older than 6 with dark brown shaggy hair and bright blue eyes.

Finally standing next to him was an other boy who looked like he was in his late teens possibly early twenties. Out of all of them he looked the least interested in the situation Shane was in.

Shane guess that he and the girl standing in the doorway were been brother and sister because they both had the exact same facial features, hair colour and characteristics.

He looked at them confused for a second before realising what they were talking about. He was still holding Cassie's hand.

He quickly pulled it away and coughed nervously.

Cassie just shook it off and laughed.

"Ha Ha very funny guys. But you know me. I like older men."

They all laughed except for the girl with the raven black hair who just smiled warmly. She had been here the longest and knew Cassie better than anyone else. The others who had randomly shown up over the years thought she was joking but she knew that that really was Cassie's dream.

Cassandra Jane Hansen's one true dream was that one day a rich man would show up and whisk her away to live a life of luxury. 36 years later and that dream still hadn't come true.

Oh well! A girl could still dream couldn't she?

"Alright guys." Cassie said loudly clapping her hands together. "You've had your fun now go upstairs and do what ever homework you need to do and Ryan..."

"Make sure that the younger ones aren't messing around." The oldest boy said monotone like he had done this numerous times.

"Come on Elliot." He mumbled before grabbing the little boys' hand and heading off upstairs.

"And Layla..."

Shane's eyes went wide at the mention of her name knowing this was the girl he had been dying to see but kept his cool.

"I know drop my stuff off in mine a Nov's room and be back here in 10 minutes or else."

Cassie smiled slightly as she watched the two teenage girls quickly walk out and down the hallway towards the bedroom they had shared for the last 5 years.

By this time Shane had got up from his seat at the small kitchen table and was standing next to Cassie watching the two girls also, with an inquisitive look on his face.

So that's Layla huh?"

Cassie nodded and Shane let out a loud breath.

"She's changed a lot."

Cassie sighed and turned her back on him as she started clearing away the mess they had created in the kitchen.

"What did you expect Shane? She was 10 when you left. It's been 7 years you can't expect a girl to stay the same for that long -especially a girl like Layla."

Shane sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew it was silly to think that she would stay the same but there was a little part of him that wished she had.

He had missed her so much. The little girl who was like his second shadow and who (even with the 7 year age gap) was his best friend. In fact she was even best friends with his best friends. Living so close to each other and with Shane, Nate and Jason being so close it was inevitable that they would either be friends or enemies. Luckily for Shane they all become friends and although people found the age gap between the group strange, ranging from Nate who was 3 and a bit years older than Layla to Jason who was a full 10 years older, people instantly saw how close the group were and learned to accept the strange group of friends.

Everyone who met her (even once) loved her. If you ever wanted a crazy idea or something fun to do that would no doubt land you in trouble Layla was your girl. She was smart fun and pretty all rolled into one. In short she was perfect. All apart from one little tiniest imperfection.

**(A/N: This is made up I honestly don't have a clue so don't take anything I say as medical fact!)**

She had a genetic condition passed onto her by their mother. It had been the reason why their mother had died at such a young age and would ultimately lead to the death of Layla also a relatively young age. Although she showed no signs of suffering the symptoms attached to it Shane, Jason and Nate who were already very protective of her, cranked it up a notch when she was diagnosed aged 5. But Layla didn't let it bother her. She accepted it and refused to let it stop her from doing what she loved even if it caused the others sleepless nights in the process (a certain occasion where she decided to sleep out on the balcony in the snow to count the snow flakes without telling anyone,causing her to catch a serious cold sprung to mind at that moment). That was one of the things Shane loved about his sister. She never let life get her down no matter what and was determined to live it to the fullest.

But this girl?

It was Layla all right. Even with the long black curls that once reached down her back replaced with straight shoulder length layers and blue streaks she still looked and (from what Shane could tell in the few minutes he'd seen her) acted the same. But Shane knew. Looks could be deceptive. There was something about her. Like she was Layla but the air around her, the way she acted had changed slightly making her that bit different from the Layla Shane had grown up with. It was like she was that tiny bit out of sync with him and all those years of knowing each other inside out had been erased, almost like they'd never happened. And (as crazy as it sounded) the thought that something so serious that it altered her in some why unsettled him.

"Hello?" Cass clicked her fingers in front of his face in an attempt to get him out of his trance like state. "Anyone in there?"

Shane suddenly shook his head and looked at her.

"Sorry kinda spaced out a little." He smiled weakly and she gave him a funny look before looking down at her watch.

"She's gonna be back in a minute so be prepared."

He took a deep breath and nodded, ready to face his sister again for the first time in 7 years.

"What ever you've got up your sleeve had better good." Cassie mumbled before turning back to see the raven haired girl enter the room and smiled at her warmly.

* * *

In the time she had been gone she had changed out of her school uniform and into a thick strapped bright blue cami, cut off jeans and red and white sneaker style flats. She had multi coloured bangles covering most of her left arm and on the other arm she had pieces of tatty looking coloured string around her wrist.

As Shane looked closer her recognised them as the friendship bracelets he, Jason and Nate had made for her ages ago. She had been scared about going to school alone now that Nate had moved schools and they gave them to her for encouragement.

He smiled at the memory. Maybe she hadn't changed that much.

His smile faltered though when he noticed there was once bracelet missing. To someone who didn't know about it, the missing purple and silver plaited threads among the baby blue and orange ones was insignificant but to him it meant everything.

Because that missing bracelet... was his.

"I'm here Cass lets get this thing over and done with so I can go."

Cassie raised an eyebrow and shot the girl a look before going over to the cupboard over the sink and pulling out a box.

"Your wish is my command." She said mockingly. "Would you like me to clean your room and do your homework for you while I'm at it?"

Layla giggled as she jumped onto the worktop and started swinging her legs off the side.

"Point taken." She said as Cassie handed her a glass of water and a handful of pills.

This shocked Shane.

When he'd left she wasn't on any type of medication at all and now...

He counted as she popped each pill in her mouth and swallowed them down with the glass of water.

1..2..3..4!

He watched as his sister swallowed 4 different types of pills in disbelief.

What the hell had happened while he was gone? Did this mean that she was getting worse? Memories of their mother came back to him and he tried to fight the one constant thought away but it kept getting though.

Was she going to die too?

God he couldn't even think about that it was too hard.

Cassie noticed the look on his face and shot him a look of her own instantly telling him to snap out of it.

"AAHH!" She shuddered as she swallowed down the last pill, a look of distaste all over her face as she opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, signaling that she'd swallowed them all.

Why would she have to do that? Shane wondered, still shocked by what he's seen to make any real sense of anything.

"Done. Now I can go!" She said happily, hopping off the counter and making a mad dash for the door but she didn't get very far. Before she even reached the hallway Cassie had grabbed her by arm and pulled her back into the room.

"Not so fast Missy, there's someone here to see you."

Layla huffed and crossed her arm over her chest as she rolled her eyes. Her eyes suddenly full of fury and a hint of..what was that... fear?

"If it's Kyle I don't wanna see him."

"It's not Kyle. Like I'd let that slimy toad back in my house anyway..." She muttered the last bit under her breath, the look in her eyes matching the fury in Layla's and sparking an interest in Shane.

"Well then who is it? Everyone else I know lives here."

Cassie sighed and pointed to Shane. "Him?"

Layla just looked between the two, confused.

"What your new boyfriend?"

"He's not my.." Cassie began but was cut off as a new voice entered the conversation.

"I'm not her boyfriend."

Layla gasped, instantly recognising the voice and turning to stare at the man leaning against the kitchen table.

"Shane?"


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N:Here's the next chapter of The Other Gray. I don't own anything other than the plot and the characters I've created.**

_No it couldn't be_.

After all these years of no contact he couldn't be standing here in her kitchen like nothing had happened. It wasn't right and it certainly wasn't fair.

She looked Shane up and down taking it all in. It had been so long since she last seen him but he looked the same, just with some subtle differences. His hair was now a little longer and fell across his face partially covering his left eye. His dress style had changed too. Gone were the slightly baggy jeans and t shirts, replaced with tight skinny jeans, leather jackets and tighter fitting t shirts. On anyone else she would think it was hot but on her brother (the brother she hadn't seen in years) it just looked wrong.

Eventually she stopped staring and realised that Shane was still standing there staring back at her just as intently.

"What are you doing here?" She snapped after she's got over the initial shock of seeing her brother again.

Shane's face dropped but he quickly covered it up with a reassuring smile which Layla could tell instantly was fake. His facial expressions (Layla had learned at a young age) were always constant. They never changed and always gave away his true emotions if you knew what you were looking for. He was scared of something she could tell that just by looking at him but of what exactly she didn't know.

"I'm here to take you back to live with me like I promised."

"WHAT?!" Layla and Cassie screamed.

Layla was livid. How dare he show up here after all this time and expect her just to pack up and leave! This was her home and it had been for the last 7 years. Moving her now after all this time was just crazy.

She shook her head furiously unable to believe his boldness for walking back into her life and telling her what to do within half an hour of meeting again.

"No Shane you're not. You don't get to dump me here.." she spat before turning to Cassie. "No offense."

"None taken." She replied, obviously as pissed off about this situation as Layla was. The pair had grown close over the years and this affected not only Layla but Cassie too.

"You don't get to leave me here then suddenly turn up out of the blue and expect me to come running back to you. You may be a pop star..."

"Rock star." Shane mumbled.

"You may be a _POP STAR_." Layla said emphasising the pop star bit loudly causing Shane to wince slightly. "But you can't boss me around and expect to get away with it."

She yelled at him before turning and storming down the hallway to her room.

* * *

Shane sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know what to expect when he got here but that wasn't it. Layla never argued with him they never fought about anything. Why had that changed?

"What the hell do you think you're playing at?" Cassie hissed as she slammed her fist on the kitchen table,the fire in her eyes causing Shane to recoil in fear.

She had never been more angry with a human being in her life and that was really saying something. Cassie never got angry even when any other person would be screaming and hollering she would just act calm. That's just the type of person she was but this really made her blood boil.

"How dare you!" She hissed angrily. "You've been gone 7 years Shane._ 7 YEARS_! Do you have any idea what she's been through in those 7 years? No you don't because you were too busy running around being Shane _BLOODY_ Gray to give a shit about anyone let alone your baby sister, your best friend, the one you promised you'd be back for when you were 18 but never fucking showed up! She waited Shane she fucking waited for days, months for you to show up but instead YOU NEVER SHOWED! "

Shane hung his head in shame but Cassie continued. She was on a roll and she wasn't going to stop now.

"Instead you turn up just months before _her _18th birthday and what? Expect her to change her whole life? Move schools, leave her friends behind, leave _ME _behind because you suddenly feel guilty?"

"Cassie..."

"No Shane. It's not fair! You left her with no one so_ I _became her someone. The one she ran to when she need someone to talk to. She's like my daughter Shane. I know I'm not supposed to get too involved but you have no idea what her life's been like..."

Shane's head snapped up from staring at the table at this, the protectiveness towards his sister that had been dormant for several years coming back again.

"Why? What has her life been like? What happened?"

Cassie stopped mid rant.

"That's not up to me to say, if she wants to tell you she'll do it herself." She sighed and sat down at the table, suddenly feeling all the anger draining from her, being replaced with sadness.

"She's my best friend and I love her Shane. I don't want her to be hurt again."

This time Shane leaned across the table and grabbed her hand, squeezing it sympathetically, much like she had done to him earlier.

"I won't hurt her again. I promise. I know I should have come back years ago but you saw what I was like! When I made that promise to Layla I didn't think I would turn out like that. I thought I would be fine but I wasn't. I couldn't deal with everything that happened in such a short time. It was too much. I thought about coming back for her but I couldn't put Layla through that. Don't you see? I stayed away to protect her! Sure I might not have gone about it the right way but I needed time to sort myself out before I could come back.

And as for the whole life changing thing? I'm moving back here so she can still go to the same school, stay in touch with her friends and more importantly see you. I would never take her away from you Cassie. I know how much you love her, I could tell when I walked through the door."

"Thanks Shane."

She hugged him lightly before getting up and wiping the few tears that had escaped from the corner of her eye and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?"

She smiled at him weakly.

"Someone's gotta tell her what's going on and believe me it's better if I do it." She said before walking out of the kitchen and heading towards Layla's room.

* * *

By the time she came back Shane was halfway through his second coffee, nervously tapping his fingers off the side of the kitchen worktop.

"She's packing." Cassie said quietly before pouring herself out a cup of coffee and taking a sip, sighing as she felt herself relax.

Shane smirked a little.

"I'm guessing it didn't go too well?"

She shook her head in disagreement.

"No it went quite well actually. She wasn't happy but I think she understands that there's nothing she can do about it. You're her legal guardian and as such she has to live with you until she's old enough to live by herself."

"So she doesn't want to live with me?" Shane said, a little disappointed. "She's just doing it because she has to."

Cassie sighed, quickly becoming frustrated and tired with the situation she had been put in. All she wanted was to curl up on the sofa and go to sleep in front of the telly, forgetting that today ever happened or that Shane ever existed.

"Why don't you go ask her yourself? She'll know better than me."

Shane nodded. "Yeah I'll go do that. Thanks Cassie."

"Shane?"

"Yep."

"Leave the coffee here. If you take that anywhere near Layla's room she'll kill you."

* * *

Meanwhile Layla was busy packing the last 7 years of her life away into cardboard boxes. Surprisingly there wasn't a lot to pack. She wasn't a big fan of clutter. She liked everything to be clean and tidy, nothing out of place. This way she could think more clearly. Luckily her best friend and roommate Nova felt the exact same why.

Nova and Layla were alike in that they both liked things to be organised. That's what eventually drew them to each other. Unable to live with the other 7 children who lived at Sunflower House with them (who were all needlessly untidy) Cassie had stuck the two together hoping they would get along. And they did, almost becoming like sister overnight. Since then the two had been inseparable. Much like Layla and Shane had been before he left.

Layla sighed as she finished taping up the three cardboard boxes full of stuff and began packing her clothes away into two medium sized suitcases.

She was still angry. She didn't want to leave. Sure when she first got here she hated the place but now it had become her home and as much as she hated to say it it was way more of a home than the place she had spent the first 10 years of her life.

The people here had also become like her family. The closest of course being Cassie, Nova, Nova's older brother Ryan and the new kid Elliot who the gang had taken a shining to. Layla especially looked out for him as he reminded her of herself when she was younger being friends with Nate and Jason.

She had wanted to stay here forever just her, her friends, her family and Cassie. They had all come up with a plan that when Layla was 18 she would stay here like Ryan had done when he turned 18 two years ago. She would help out looking after the little ones while going to the local community college. But now that plan was ruined. Instead she was moving in with Shane Gray.

Layla chuckled slightly. The girls at school would've given anything to live with Shane Gray but she would give anything not to.

She suddenly stopped what she was doing.

"Step one foot in my room and I'll kill you."

Behind her Shane's left foot was hovering mid air just over the threshold. He put it back down careful to make sure it wasn't in her room and gulped. He couldn't afford piss her off this early.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I'm psychic." She said sarcastically before rolling her eyes at him and throwing a bundled pair of socks into her suitcase. " I could smell your aftershave from down the end of the hallway. 7 years and not only do you still use too much but it's still the same cheap crappy brand."

Shane put a hand to his chest, pretending to be offended.

"Hey! I'll have you know this is not cheap and as for the whole using too much thing? I don't see anyone else complaining."

Layla didn't answer. Instead she just rolled her eyes again and finished zipping up the last suitcase.

When she was finished she looked back and surveyed her work.

In less than a couple of hours she had managed to pack her whole life into nothing but a few cardboard boxes and some old suitcases.

She felt the tears come to her eyes but quickly pushed them away. She hadn't cried over Shane for years and she wasn't going to start now, especially in front of him.

"I'm ready." She whispered hoarsely as she picked up her school bag and slung it over her shoulder before grabbing one of the boxes and heading towards the door.

"Wait? Is that it?" Shane asked shocked. "I've collected more stuff on tour than you've kept in 7 years!"

Layla stopped suddenly and turned to look at him, a cold look in her eyes.

"Maybe. But I learned a long time ago that when you treasure something so much you can't live your life without it that's what you keep. Anything else? Well what's the point of hanging on to it if you truly don't want it."

With that she walked off leaving Shane to stare after her, wide eyed with disbelief. He hadn't missed the hidden meaning behind what she had said. She thought that that was what he had done. That he hadn't loved her enough to stay with her that's why he had left her all those years ago. That was the furthest from the truth! How could she ever even think that was a possibility?

Just then it hit him the seriousness of the situation. It wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. He had this naïve idea that when he'd come back everything would go back to the way it was before. But that simply wasn't true.

Groaning, Shane sat down heavily on the bed and ran his hands through his hair.

This was going to be harder than he thought.


	4. Chapter 3

**a/n: I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I have created and the plot.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

An Hour later Shane pulled up outside an apartment building on the other side of town and turned off the engine of his jet black Aston Martin DB9.

He looked at Layla with a big grin on his face.

"So what do you think?"

Layla looked at him in disinterest.

"Am I supposed to be impressed or something?" She asked and Shane's face fell a little. It was clear that he was very proud of this building and if she was honest Layla was quite impressed too.

She had lived on the old estate that had been there before with Shane and their mother before their mother died and their lives changed forever.

It hadn't been the best place to live and held many bad memories for both Shane and Layla therefore she hadn't been bothered when it was announced that they were being pulled down to create two luxury apartment complexes. As far as she was concerned the quicker the pulled them down the better. Every time she had driven past that estate on her way to school she was flooded with memories, some good but most bad and she would shudder. Now the new buildings were there the memories remained but somehow they had been dulled by not having to see the estate that meant so much to her when she was little.

A couple of months after the apartment complex was commissioned to be built she had heard that a group of celebrities had bought one of the buildings although for security reasons it was never disclosed who actually bought them. At first she thought it was just some silly rumour made up just to give people like Marie and Allie (West Brook High's resident queen bees) something to obsess over. Looking back on it now she should have realised that it would have something to do with Shane.

_I mean what celebrity would honestly want to live in a town like this if they didn't have to?_ Layla thought to herself as she grabbed her stuff out of the back of the car and followed Shane.

* * *

The town where Layla lived wasn't the worst place in the world. Just on the outskirts of a fairly large city she had the countryside in one direction and a thriving urbanised area complete with shops, cinema's and restaurants in the other direction. In a way it was the best of both worlds, a mixture of the country and the city but on the whole to be completely honest-it was a little boring. Which is why Layla couldn't comprehend why anyone in their right mind would want to voluntarily live here, especially a group of celebrities who had the luxury of living where ever they wanted.

Now she understood.

As they got closer to the apartment Layla realised just why everyone was so impressed with these apartments. Everything seemed brand new, state of the art-nothing like the old apartment block she and Shane had lived in before.

Although not bad by some standards the estate they had lived on wasn't the best either. She, Shane, Jason and Nate all lived on the top floor of the largest complex in the estate meaning that when the elevator wasn't working (which was most days) the four of them would have to climb the 30 flights of stairs leading to their floor, often ending with someone (usually Shane or Jason) carrying Layla for the last couple of flights. Looking at it Layla didn't think these apartment blocks were any higher than 8 floors.

The outside of the buildings were also significantly better than those that had been there before. 40 years after first being built the walls were shabby and the only paint came from the various (and often rude) remarks spray painted all over the place. Newly built and painted a bright white the whole place had the look and smell of something new, sticking out like a sore (and very clean) thumb in the middle of this heavily urbanised area.

The inside was even better.

Layla had expected tiny corridors and doors leading to tiny apartments where everyone lived their lives totally separate of each other. She was wrong.

The whole down stairs was one big room with a large kitchen at the back, two living rooms, a bathroom and a games room at the front with a sort of meeting room/lobby in the middle.

Shane saw the look of confusion on Layla's face and smiled a little. She wasn't the first person who had been a little shocked by the layout of this apartment building.

"Bet you're wondering what's going on right?"

She nodded.

"Well basically it's just like one big house-well sort of. Downstairs as you can see is available for everyone to use, Second floor belongs to Peggy Dupree and Ella Shang--"

"As in the platinum album selling singer and fashion designer?"

Shane smiled and nodded, proud of his friend's accomplishments.

"That's them. If you ever need fashion advice or advice in general go to them. Although if you need advice on what nail polish to use or anything other than fashion it's best to ask Peggy. I'd introduce you to them but they're not here at the moment. Everyone's gone to Camp Rock a week early to help set up. We're all councilors there."

"Wait what do you mean by everyone?" Layla asked as she followed Shane to the frosted glass elevator in the corner of the room.Both of them were dragging a suitcase and a cardboard box with them making the room in the elevator pretty cramped. She saw Shane press a button and felt the elevator lurch. Dropping the box quickly, not caring if their was anything fragile in it, she grabbed onto the pole running along the back wall of the elevator for dear life and tried to get her breathing back to normal. Ever since an incident involving being trapped in a broken down elevator with a drunken neighbour when Layla was 8 she had been scared of elevators, to the point that on the days when it was working she would often choose the walk to up to the 30th floor just so she wouldn't have to use it.

"Sorry I forgot that you were scared of elevators. There are stairs on the other side of the building I'll show them to you later but with our apartment being on the fifth floor I didn't feel like dragging this 2 tonne suitcase up all those stairs."

"Did you just say five floors?"Layla asked.

After 7 years of living on the ground floor and rarely having to go higher than 2 floors off the ground the idea of five made her shudder a little.

Shane nodded.

"Yep 6 in total excluding the ground floor and the penthouse of course."

"Of course." Layla muttered darkly. Shane couldn't choose somewhere simple to live he had to live in a 6 story (plus penthouse) high bloody maze with lifts, stairs and people every where!

The elevator finally reached the fifth floor and she released her death grip on the pole. Stepping out and taking a deep breath (thanking God she was on solid ground even if it was suspended above the ground) she dragged her suitcase behind her as she followed Shane.

* * *

Instantly she could tell that this was Shane's floor.

The lobby type area directly outside the elevator doors was decorated in so many different shades of green that Layla couldn't even count them all. There were two creamy white squishy leather sofas along one wall while on the other there was a huge flat screen TV, currently replaying Connect 3's last concert (sold out of course-people at school had been dying to get those tickets but they all sold out in 10 minutes). Every other wall was covered in photos. Many of them she didn't recognise, other's she did from either their childhood or from magazines covering various Connect 3 concerts over the last 8 years. The one that caught her eye the most though was the one in the center. It was one taken of her, Shane, Nate and Jason when she was little. It was taken just after Shane's 16th birthday. All Shane's friends had thrown a surprise party for him but refused to let Layla join in saying that she was too young. When the guys **(A/N: Shane, Nate and Jason-I'm gonna call them the guys sometimes cos it's easier than typing their names out all the time)** heard they were furious and left the party early. They ended up having their own party ending with a massive dance off competition between the four of them and some how in the mist of all that madness Nate and Jason's sister Sandy had manged to take a photo of them. It was the four of them at their best and out of all the photos taken of the them this was her favourite. She even had a copy of it tucked into her diary.

"Come on." Shane said grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the photos when he noticed she had stopped. "There's plenty of time to look around but right now I want to drop these boxes off-they're starting to get heavy."

Shane quickly took off and Layla eventually followed, turning back quickly to catch one last glimpse of the photo before carrying on.

He led her through a smallish living room (compared to the one downstairs anyway but it was still bigger than the one at Sunflower House), a library and a dinning room before taking a left and leading her down a corridor only stopping when he reached a brightly painted door covered in flowers and butterflies.

He turned to make sure Layla was behind him before smiling and reaching for the door handle. This was the moment he had been waiting for since they first arrived back home.

"This." He said opening the door and pushing it open so she could see. "Is your new room."

* * *

Layla gasped. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She remembered when she first visited Sunflower House and thought the gardens there were the best thing ever but they were nothing compared to this.

The walls were painted lilac (her favourite colour) with a white boarder running from one side of the room to the other. Across the walls silver butterflies had been placed randomly, Some looked like they were in mid flight while others were stationary but all of them were beautifully detailed.

Carrying on the theme all the furniture were also white and lilac including the huge entertainment system Shane had got custom made just for her and the huge king sized canopy bed in the far side of the room (also custom made).

The best part of all though was the balcony. Shane had insisted that when they built the apartment complex they built a balcony which could only be accessed from this room. It ran the whole length of one side of the building and was home to hundreds of plants, a butterfly enclosure and multiple birdhouses all built by Jason for her as a welcome home gift.

Layla was speechless.

"So you like it?" Shane asked nervously. He, Nate and Jason had spent ages setting up this room and really wanted to make a good impression, even more so after the reception he had gotten from Layla earlier.

"Like it! I lo-" Layla shrieked excitedly before realising that it was Shane she was talking to and she was still angry with him.

"I mean it's okay." She said monotonously. She looked over her room quickly one more time before turning on her heel and walking off.

Shane sighed and looked down at the ground defeated before going after her. Although it wasn't a huge apartment (not compared to some of the others in the building and the penthouse) it was still easy to get lost if you didn't know where you were going.

Shane eventually caught up with Layla who somehow had made it through all the rooms to the kitchen on the other side of the apartment and was searching through the fridge for something to eat.

Expecting to see Shane's usual diet of cold pizza and ready made meals in the fridge, Layla was shocked to find proper food.

For the last few years of their mother's life when she was at her worst and the three months they had lived together after their mother's death before Shane left her with Cassie to go on tour the only thing Shane used to know how to cook was microwavable pizza. And even then he couldn't cook it properly, always burning one side and leaving the other half cooked. One time he almost blew up the microwave!

Now looking at all the meat, fish, dairy products and.. .

_No it couldn't be_ she thought_ vegetables?!_

Layla began to think that maybe she wasn't the only one who'd changed.

"So find anything interesting in there?"

Layla jumped and stepped back from the fridge to see her brother leaning against the counter, smirking at her.

"You have food." She said disbelievingly as she closed the fridge door and sat down at the counter opposite him. "And by food I mean proper food not junk. I mean I even saw a carrot in there!"

Shane chuckled at the look of shock on her face.

"You know if you look hard enough you may even find a cabbage." He laughed and Layla rolled her eyes.

"You never liked cabbages or carrots before." She said softly.

"And you used to never argue with me before." Shane said seriously causing Layla to look up at him. "I've changed Lay. For the better. What about you?"

Layla stiffened up and started staring at the counter, tracing patterns into it with her fingernail.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She muttered, trying her best to concentrate on the patterns she was tracing into the worktop instead of looking at her brother. She knew that he'd be giving her the look. Not any look but _The _look, designed to wheedle the truth out of her even if she didn't want to. It had always worked when she was younger and somehow Layla believed that even after all this time apart it still did.

"You've changed Layla, no question about it. I knew it the second I saw you. The only question is that change good or bad?"

Layla's head snapped up and she looked Shane in the eyes. They kept eye contact for a couple of seconds, fighting each other before Layla finally broke the contact, getting up from her stool to go to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water out of the door and closed it, taking a deep breath before turning back to her brother.

She had been so close to telling him everything every little thing that had happened since he left and although after all these years she understood why he did it she just couldn't quite forgive him for it. When she was little she was used to telling Shane everything but once he left she had no one to talk to, not the way that she and Shane talked. Not even Nova who had become like her sister she couldn't relate to her in the same way that she could with Shane. Now he was back a part of her wanted things to go back to the way they were before he left ,but she couldn't.She wanted to, She really,really wanted to but something stopped her every time she tried. So instead she took a swig of water from the bottle and swallowed it down before turning to her brother and plastering a fake smile across her face.

"So who else lives here?" Layla asked, knowing that he would know that she was trying to avoid the subject and hoping that he'd go along with it.

Shane looked at her for a second before sighing dejectedly. She wasn't going to say anything so there wasn't any point pushing her she'd only bottle it up even more. He only hoped she'd tell him sooner rather than later.

"Okay lets start from the beginning. Ground floor. That's for all of us so you can basically do whatever you want just don't touch Nate's guitars without telling him, he'll freak out." Layla giggled a little but stopped when Shane shot her a look. "Seriously. Touch those guitars and it doesn't matter if you're his best friend. He. Will. Take. You. Down."

Shane shuddered a little, remembering the last time he accidentally knocked one of Nate's guitars. It wasn't pretty. Nate's face turned bright red as he stared Shane down before tackling him to the ground, knocking the wind out of him. Sure it probably had something to do with the fact that he had been under a great deal of stress at the time but Shane didn't want to test that theory out anytime soon.

"Moving on..."

As Shane ran through the different people living in the apartment complex Layla just nodded, finding it hard to take in.

When they said celebrities she just thought that it would be small bit part actors and some washed out popstars but these were the biggest names in the entertainment and fashion business and all were campers at the legendary Camp Rock.

As well as Ella and Peggy, there was Barron, Sander and Lola who all lived on the second floor. The three of them were not only best friends but were members of the biggest hip hop group in the country, They were constantly touring the country and were currently breaking into the European market.

The third floor belonged to mega star Tess Tyler while the fourth belonged to Caitlyn and Nate Carter.

"Wait Nate got married?!" Layla shrieked. How could Nate get married without her knowing?!

"Lay He'll be 21 next week I think he's old enough to get married if he wants to. Plus he and Caitlyn have been together on and off since they were 15 and living together since they were 18 so getting married at 20 wasn't really that big of a step for them."

"I guess not." Layla mumbled, still a little shocked by this latest piece of news. She had heard of Caitlyn Carter before and knew that she had worked on a lot of Connect 3's latest stuff but hadn't made the connection between her and Nate until now.

"Wow it's just I didn't expect something like this to happen. I mean I didn't even know he was dating anyone let alone getting married. How could anyone get married and not tell one of their closest friends?"

Layla saw Shane wince and stopped ranting. Her face dropped.

"Oh please don't tell me Jason got married too!"

The idea that her best friend had got married without her knowing would be too much.

Shane didn't say anything. Instead he began laughing nervously.

"Jason no! He hasn't dated anyone in months let alone proposed to them. Plus he said he'd never get married unless you were there too. He lives on the floor above us with his birds."

"Well then if it's not Jason who is it?"

It was then as Shane ran his hands through his hair nervously that she noticed it.

He was wearing a wedding ring.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I have created and th plot.**

**Hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

"_YOU'RE MARRIED_!" Layla shrieked angrily causing Shane to cover his ears again.

"Jesus Lay! Could you shriek any louder? I don't think they heard you all the way in _CHINA_!" Shane said sarcastically.

Layla glared at him evilly and he soon shut up, gulping loudly as she got up off her stool and made her way over to his side of the counter. Although she was a couple of inches shorter than him and smaller in general Shane still found his baby sister very intimidating. The look on her face didn't help either. In fact Shane swore he saw the same look on that man's face just before he killed his best friend in the movie he had watched last night.

"You. Got. Married. And. You. Didn't. Tell. Me?" Layla said angrily through gritted teeth as she advanced on her brother.

Scared that Layla might beat him to death with a pan like in the movie Shane quickly backed up, putting distance between him and his sister; raising his hands up in defense.

"To be honest Lay it's not exactly like we were talking at the time soo..."

"_So_?!" Layla yelled, even angrier than before. Unable to believe the words coming out of her brother's mouth. "The only reason we weren't talking was because YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO KEEP IN CONTACT!!"

Layla shrieked again angrily before throwing her arms up in the air and storming out of the room.

How could he do this? How could he get married and not even tell his little sister? Sure they weren't talking but he could have sent a letter, left a message with Cassie_ ANYTHING_ just so she knew!

As she raced though various rooms trying to find her way back to the one that had been designated hers a part of her was telling her that she was overreacting but she didn't care, not at the moment. At that moment all she cared about was getting away from Shane. Just the thought of being in the same room as him, even breathing the same air as him, made her angry. She needed to think and she couldn't do that while he was around. He was too distracting always trying to get her attention, trying to get her forgiveness, and that was something she couldn't do especially when he was still hanging around making her even angrier.

Layla eventually found her room and quickly rushed in, slamming the door behind her. Slowly she slid down the door and buried her head in her knees, taking in big gasps of air as she tried to steady her breathing and willed the tears not to fall. When she'd finally calmed down enough to think straight (well straight-ish) her mind went into overload.

How had this happened?

She thought that she had finally got her life back on track and now this?

It wasn't fair! After years and years of wishing Shane would come back she had given up and moved on and now he was back! In a couple of hours he had managed to worm his way back into her life and destroy everything!

Where was he when she needed him the most? When her life was falling apart and the only thing she needed was her brother?

Going off the rails and getting married without telling her that's what!

The thing Layla couldn't get though was how had he got married and she didn't know. Connect 3 were major celebrities, their popularity ever increasing. In a market that was always changing they had somehow still managed to keep up with the times and produce songs that never failed to secure them a top ten spot. They couldn't sneeze without someone taping it, taking a photo then interviewing them about it afterwards.

Nate's marriage slipping under the radar she could sort of understand as both Nate and Jason were the less outspoken members of Connect 3, always trying to stay out of the public eye (especially when it came to relationships). But something as major as the lead singer of Connect 3 getting married and no one knowing? It would never happen.

Every entertainment reporter and paparazzi from here to Australia would be covering a story as big as that so why hadn't she known? Unless...

She quickly rummaged through one of the boxes and pulled out her laptop. Setting it up on the desk over looking the balcony she waited for it to boot up before searching the Internet for information about Shane.

After sorting through pages and pages of useless information ( most of them asking if she wanted to buy genuine backstage passes to Connect 3 concerts that had already happened) she finally found something.

It was a website proudly announcing that they knew absolutely everything about Shane Gray. Curious to find out exactly what they knew about him she clicked on the hyperlink and was greeted with a huge blown up photo of Shane being swarmed by a group of crazy fan girls, obviously trying to find a way to escape. She tried not to laugh at the look on his face before scrolling further down the page.

_Hmm.. let's see what these people really know about Shane. _She thought as she settled back into her chair, tucking her legs under her.

To begin with she was very impressed. These people had really done their homework. Not only did they know that Shane was born in Ireland but they also knew exact day, time, and even which hospital he had been in. Not even she knew that! They also knew about their mother and the fact that Brown Cessario was actually his step uncle (how they got that she didn't know).

As she made her way further down the page the information got less and less accurate. At one point she came across a part that said he was an only child who went to boarding school in England and owned polo ponies. This made her laugh.

The closest Shane ever got to a polo pony was when their mother's stepfather (brown's father) attempted to teach them how to play on a trip back to his native England. It didn't end well and from Layla could recall (only being 5 at the time) Shane had actually been sick all over the pony and it's rider. Let's just say the day didn't end too good for anybody. She skimmed through the most of it until she reached a part she didn't recognise. Realising that this was in fact what she was searching for she quickly started paying attention as she scrolled through the given information.

According to this website Shane had been sent to Camp Rock when he was 19 to try and sort out his bad attitude after he stormed off the set of Connect 3's new video-putting an end to their latest tour and questioning the band future.

This sparked a vague recognition in Layla as she briefly recalled an incident which caused many of the girls in her school to burst into tears due to the fact that said tour had been canceled a week before they were to perform in Layla's hometown. She shuddered. That hadn't been a good week for anyone.

_Anyway back to the matter at hand..._

While at Camp Rock Shane met "the girl with the voice" who's identity was unknown to Shane until Final Jam. After that Shane straightened out dramatically and Connect 3 suddenly had a brand new sound which the band credited to this amazing girl. The identity of the girl was unknown by the public and no one who attended the camp at the time would give a name but many speculated it was one of the 5 girls Connect 3 met and befriended at Camp Rock who later joined them on their new tour. In the following years "the girl with the voice" was pretty much forgotten as Connect 3 released hit after hit and their friends became superstars in their own right. The most publicised of those were Caitlyn Gellar and Mitchie Torres who not only were best friends but wrote, sang and produced one of the biggest selling albums of the year. They also gained publicity for who they were dating as Caitlyn was dating Nate Carter and Mitchie was dating Shane Gray. Caitlyn and Nate had been dating previously on/off since they were 13 while it was revealed that Shane and Mitchie started dating shortly after Camp Rock when he found out that she was in fact "the girl with the voice."

Yes the amazing Mitchie Torres was the "girl with the voice" not Caitlyn Gellar, Tess Tyler, Peggy Dupree, Lola Scott or Ella Sheng like others had suspected.

That had been back in 2008 and now 5 years later in 2013 the couples had been happily married for just over a year after having their weddings just weeks apart from each other while on tour. Nate and Caitlyn were now living in a bungalow outside Beijing eating only kidney beans and sewing blankets while Shane and Mitchie had gone to Russia to run raise Emus together.

Layla sat back and looked at the screen in shock. Of course not because of Nate, Caitlyn , Shane and Mitchie's new business adventures (you'd have to be stupid to believe any of that rubbish) but because of the name that was now permanently tattooed onto her brain.

Mitchie Torres.

She shook her head and told herself she was being silly. There was no way it said Mitchie Torres. She was hallucinating. That was it! She had do be there was no way that life could be that cruel.

She opened her eyes and stared at the screen hoping that it had dissapeared and been replaced with a different name but nope it was still there. Mitchie Torres.

Damn it!

Unable to believe it she quickly started searching the Internet for info of Mitchie Torres. Maybe it was another Mitchie Torres (after all it was a pretty popular name -wasn't it?) and that website wasn't exactly reliable- they thought Shane was living in Russia cleaning up Emu poop and owned polo ponies for God's sake!

Nope they had to be wrong.

Eventually though after searching at least a dozen different websites Layla accepted defeat.

Every single one said that Mitchie Torres and Shane Gray had been happily married after a small ceremony in Dublin, Ireland 13 months ago. And it wasn't just any Mitchie Torres it was the Mitchie Torres.

Now to everyone else this didn't seem like that big of a deal. Mitchie was a nice girl. Not only was she about to start medical school after a short but successful musical career but she was also a talented singer/songwriter and the only woman on Earth able to tame the wild party animal that was Shane Gray. But she was more than that to Layla. Oh she was so so so much more.

Because to Layla these things were insignificant. To her the only thing that matter was that this Mitchie Torres (her brand new sister in law) just happened to be her abusive ex-boyfriend's big sister.

Life really was that cruel.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I have created and the plot.**

**Thanks for reading this and I hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 5

4 hours away at Camp Rock, Mitchie Torres Gray was nervously pacing the front room of the councilor's cabin she would be sharing with the rest of Connect 3, her best friend Caitlyn Carter and her new sister -in- law Layla.

Now Mitchie wasn't usually a nervous person. After the whole lying incident at Camp Rock 5 years ago she had become more confident and seldom found the need to be nervous about anything. Today she made an exception. Because today, like the others, she was as nervous as hell.

In the opposite corner (just as nervous but more composed than Mitchie) was Nate Carter, casually laying on the sofa next to Caitlyn playing his guitar. He had been playing the same song for the last 3 hours and although it was getting on everyone's nerves as well as his own he just couldn't stop. It had been the last song he'd played for Layla before they left to go on their first tour, leaving her behind and for some reason it calmed him down.

Sitting on the other side of him jumping up and down excitedly in his seat was his older brother Jason. Being the oldest out of all of them you would expect that he would be the calmest but nope if anything he was worse than Mitchie.

Since hearing that Layla was coming back home he had been even more hyper than normal, creating all different types of birdhouses to stick out on the balcony for her when she returned (they both shared a strange interest in birds-it was what had created such a strong friendship between the two). By the time they had left for Camp Rock he had built 5 unique and slightly quirky birdhouses in various colours and sizes.

If that wasn't bad enough when Shane called last night to say he had picked up Layla and they would be driving up the next day Jason went crazy. Not wanting to miss out on her arriving he had stayed up all night with the help of various sugary substances and coffee so now at 1pm he was bouncing off the walls with anticipation, constantly asking when she would show up.

After what seemed like the hundredth time of giving the same answer to Jason's question Caitlyn finally snapped.

"Jason!" She yelled loudly causing everyone to jump out of shock. "Shane said he'd call when he was 5 minutes away so until he does just sit still and button it!"

Jason pouted but did what he was told and suddenly stopped fidgeting. The last thing he wanted was to annoy Caitlyn. That never ended well. But unfortunately after almost 4 hours of constant pacing , fidgeting and guitar playing she had had enough. Someone had to sort these 3 out and she was just the woman to do the job.

"You!" She said racing over to her best friend and stopping her midway through her pacing. "Stop pacing. Not only are you wearing out the carpet, which I'm pretty sure Brown will make you pay for even if you are family, you're also making me dizzy. It's not clever and it's not gonna help in anyway so sit down and wait like any other normal person!"

When she'd finally stopped Mitchie's manic pacing she led her towards the other sofa and turned to her attention to her husband of just over a year. Walking up to the sofa he was currently occupying Caitlyn sat down next to him and gently pulled his hand away, stopping him from playing the instrument.

"Nate you know I love you that's why I married you." She said softly and he nodded in agreement. "Well if you play that song one more time not only will I break that guitar in two causing you a great deal of emotional pain but I will divorce your ass quicker than you can say "pre-nup". Okay?"

Nate gulped and quickly put down the guitar, creating distance between it and him.

Caitlyn sighed.

"Guys I understand you're nervous. I'm nervous too. But seriously! It's just one 17 year old girl!"

The three of them looked at her in horror, like she had just suggested they go out on a mass killing spree.

"She's not just some 17 year old girl!" Mitchie shrieked, jumping off the sofa and continuing her pacing. "She's..."

"Technically she's 17 years, 7 months and 12 days." Jason stated, interrupting Mitchie and causing everyone to turn and glare at him. He shrank back into the sofa.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Nate shook his head at his brother's insane knowledge of Shane's little sister before turning back to Caitlyn.

"Mitchie's right. She's more than some 17 year old girl. To Mitchie this is like meeting Shane's entire family-hell with the exception of Brown she IS his entire family. Imagine what it was like for her to meet all of us and times that by 100 maybe even 1000. That's probably what she's feeling right at this moment. I mean can you..."

"Alright Nate I think she gets it." Mitchie hissed, suddenly feeling sick with worry.

"Sorry Mitch I guess I got a little carried away." Nate said apologetically upon seeing the look on his friend's face.

"Fine I get why Mitchie's all "arrgh!" "Caitlyn said emphasising the crazy noise by waving her hands around erratically. "But I don't understand what's going on with you and Jason."

Nate groaned and flopped down onto the sofa unable to believe that after all her told her about Layla she couldn't understand why they were reacting this way.

"Cait, don't you get it?" Jason said, standing up and taking over for his brother who was currently muttering obscene words into the cushions. "Growing up Layla was like our baby sister and best friend all rolled into one. It didn't matter that we were all older than her or that everyone found our friendship strange, we always had her back and she always had ours. Then suddenly one day she was gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Caitlyn asked, confused.

Maybe they hadn't explained it to her quite as well as they thought.

" When Shane was 17 and Layla was 10 almost 11 their mum died. After her death Shane took her to this place called Sunflower House. That was 7 years ago and since then we haven't seen her since." Jason told her.

Finally able to talk again Nate rejoined the conversation.

"We would send her letters and updates every couple of weeks and call her every day but after a year Shane insisted that any communications we had with her stopped. We haven't talked to her or had any contact since."

Out of the corner of his eye Nate saw his brother begin fidgeting again-a sure sign that he was hiding something.

"Jason?" Nate asked questioningly as he turned to him. "We haven't had any contact at all have we?"

Jason fidgeted a bit more as Nate continued to stare at him.

"Well I might of.."

"Jason!" Nate yelled angrily. "Shane told us not to keep in contact with her! He said the best thing for all of us was to leave her alone and we agreed!"

"It was only a couple of presents and cards on her birthday and Christmas okay!" He shouted back. "I didn't sign them or anything so it's not like she knows who they came from!"

"You better hope Shane never finds out or..."

"Talking of Shane." Mitchie interrupted. "He just rang. They're pulling up outside the councilor's entrance right now so..."

Before she could get another word out the two brothers raced towards the front door and began fighting to get out. **(A/N: If you've never seen the episode of Hannah Montana with the Jonas brothers it's like the bit in the recording studio but with only two of them! lol that was funny! :P)**

"I'm the oldest so I'm going first!" Jason yelled climbing over Nate to get to the door only for Nate to grab him by the ankle and pull him to the ground. Hard. There was no way he was going to see her first!

"I don't care she's my best friend!"

"SHE'S MY BEST FRIEND!" Jason shouted trying to prise Nate's hand off his ankle so he could get up.

They were about to start a full out war over who's best friend she was when they heard a loud cough. Looking up they saw a teenage girl dressed all in black with blue streaks through her hair standing in the doorway with Shane and a pile of suitcases behind her. Both were wearing a smirk on their faces as they watched the brothers untangle themselves and stand up, their faces turning red with embarrassment.

"Nice to see somethings haven't changed." She laughed as she watched the two of them move away and glare at each other.

Suddenly before she could say anything else Jason had picked her up and was spinning her around.

"Layla you're back!" He yelled excitedly before pulling away slightly and looking at her worried for a second. "You are Layla right?"

She giggled and nodded. He grinned and quickly started hugging her again. Behind her Nate was rolling his eyes at Jason's stupidity but Jason didn't care instead he continued hugging her and poked his tongue out at his little brother. He stopped though when he felt Layla's breath next to his ear.

"Thank for the presents and cards." She whispered and his eyes went wide.

_How had she known?_

"How did..."

Layla giggled slightly, cutting him off.

"Next time you sent something anonymously don't draw a little birdy in the corner of the page okay?"

She eventually pulled away (much to Jason's dismay) and turned her attention to the other Carter brother in the room.

"Nathaniel." She said stiffly.

"Layla Jayne." He replied in the same stiff voice.

The pair stared at each other for a minute before bursting into laughter and hugging each other.

"I missed you Natty." She whispered and Nate rolled his eyes. He hated that nickname and she knew it that's why she always used it but today he didn't care. She could call him anything he was just glad that she was back.

"I missed you too LJ." He said using his nickname for her before pulling her away and leading her towards Caitlyn.

"Come on there's someone I want to introduce you too."

As Nate introduced Layla to Caitlyn and they started talking Shane watched them in silence a look of sadness crossing over his face. Noticing this Mitchie slowly made her way towards him and put a hand on his arm.

"You okay?" She said softly.

Shane sighed and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I will be. It's just I wish she would act that way with me." He sighed as he watched Layla laughing and joking around with Nate,Jason and Caitlyn like nothing had happened. "She's barely said two words to me since I told her about us last night and even before hand everything she said sounded like it was forced. She doesn't like me. I can tell."

Mitchie sighed.

"Don't be stupid of course she likes you. She just need time to get to know you again and the same goes for you. A lot has happened to both of you in the past 7 years you've been apart and you just need to just used to having the other in your life again."

"I suppose." Shane mumbled and Mitchie smiled slightly.

"Good now come and introduce me to this amazing sister of yours." She said as she dragged him into the group of people currently chatting and laughing in the middle of the room.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: So this is the longest chapter I've written so far. I hope you like it.**

**I don't own Camp Rock or the characters except the ones I've created and the plot.**

* * *

Chapter 6.

Layla had been trying to ignore the insistent beeping for the last half an hour but was failing miserably.

After arriving yesterday afternoon she had spent the whole time reminiscing with Nate and Jason while getting to know Mitchie and Caitlyn a little better. At first she was nervous around Mitchie suspecting that she might be somewhat like her brother or know who she was but that soon disappeared once she found out what an amazing person she was. She was glad that her brother had chosen to marry someone as nice as Mitchie and in the little time they had known each other Layla could already tell that they were going to be good friends. The same went for Caitlyn whom Layla instantly connected to once they found they shared a common interest in music, fashion and annoying Nate.

Shortly after being introduced to Mitchie and Caitlyn the others had arrived eager to talk to the amazing Layla Winters Gray that Connect 3 hadn't stopped talking about for the last couple of weeks. They had all got along really well (much to the relief of Connect 3) and around 8pm after endless hours of chatting, games and general messing around they had retreated to their own cabins; promising to return the next day.

Once they'd left the rest of the gang began one of their legendary movie marathons which of course involved loads of junk food and the occasional food fight. After 5 movies and countless popcorn throwing contests (which of course Shane won every single time!) they had all crashed in the front room of the councilors cabin to exhausted to make it all the way back to their own rooms. That had only been a few hours ago and all Layla wanted to to was sleep but she finally had to gave up when she realised that the beeping wouldn't go away and that it actually meant something.

Sighing she tried to get up but was stopped by a pair of strange arms around her waist. Biting back a scream she slowly turned around to look behind her and instantly relaxed when she saw who it was was. Now happier with the knowledge that it was Jason hugging her and mumbling about birds in his sleep not some crazy person who sneaked in during the night she made another attempt to get up before her watch started beeping again and woke everyone up.

Gently she unwrapped his arms and slid off the sofa the pair had crashed on the night before, hoping that she didn't wake him up.

Once she was sure he hadn't Layla slowly tip toed across the bodies randomly thrown around the room and made her way towards the kitchen/dining room.

Reaching the door she thought she was clear until she accidentally knocked Mitchie's foot. Not daring to move, or even breathe Layla watched as her sister in law squirmed in her sleep before settling down again. Layla sighed in relief and kept going quickly reaching the kitchen.

Now was the hard part. Finding where Shane had left her meds.

* * *

For someone who could remember the exact date he lost his first tooth (12th May 1993 -if you were interested :P) he was hopeless when it came to things that he needed to remember. Once when Layla was 8 she had a dance recital and Shane had remembered every step to the dance she had to do, the music, everything. He just forgot to pick her up. Layla had had to walk the 4 blocks to the dance studio in the rain and by the time she got there she'd missed her part.

Yesterday she had told him everything he would need to know from what each medication was to the times which she had to take them every day. She had only done it so he would know what was going on but he had insisted that he be in charge of all her medication and that someone was always present when she was taking them, thinking that she wasn't old enough or responsible enough to sort them out herself. Despite her protests and constant reminders that she was in fact 17 (almost 18!) and more than capable of sorting out her own stuff he still refused and had taken them off her for "safe keeping".

It was only last night when they arrived that she asked Shane what he'd done with them he told her that he'd left them somewhere safe and that she shouldn't be worried...only he'd forgotten where!

That's why Layla had set her alarm at such a ridiculous time. She had hoped that if she got up early enough she could find them before it got too late to take her meds then stash them somewhere where she could easily find them and Shane couldn't (for fear of him deciding to "put them somewhere safe" again). This way she knew they couldn't get lost, she wouldn't have to get up early to play search for the meds and Shane wouldn't get an earful every day for forgetting where he'd left them. It was a win/ win situation really. All she needed to do now was to find the bloody things!

* * *

Layla knew that it wouldn't take Shane too long to work out where he'd put them but by then it could be too late. No she had to look for them herself, even if that meant getting up at 5 in the morning and only getting a couple of hours sleep so be it. It was just something that she had to do.

It wouldn't be the end of the word if she took her medication late but Layla hated mess and in her mind being late for anything in any way caused a mess. She also didn't want to run the risk of forgetting to take them. She paled as she remembered the last time she'd forgotten. That was an experience she wouldn't like to relive anytime soon.

As she started searching she realised she had seriously underestimated her brother's stupidity. Either that or he'd got worse over the last 7 years. She was inclined to think it was a mixture of both after reading about some of the things he had got up to while he was away.

She searched all the obvious places first just to get them out of the way. Layla knew there was no way Shane would be smart enough to leave them in plain sight but it didn't hurt to try. Once she'd searched in every open draw and cupboard she could she started searching in the less obvious places, places that only Shane would think were suitable for "keeping things safe". This included behind the fridge, in between the worktop and the wall and even the oven but still nothing.

"Stupid idiot of a brother! Taking something of me the organised one to make sure it didn't get lost then losing it himself!" She muttered darkly as she knelt down to search the cupboard under the sink.

She had looked in every single nook and cranny in this stinking kitchen and was starting to get annoyed. Searching a kitchen from top to bottom wasn't her idea of fun and this was starting to get ridiculous! Surely he couldn't be that stupid as to take something that important and lose it!

"Layla what are you doing?"

She was so shocked by the sound that she forgot where she was and...

WHACK!

"Jesus!" Layla screamed holding the top of her head in pain. Now she wasn't one for blasphemy but that hurt!

Slowly creeping backwards on her hands and knees she waited until she was safely out of the cupboard before standing up and turning around to glare at the person who caused her such pain.

She sighed when she saw who it was and all the anger she had suddenly disappeared.

"Bloody hell Jason!" She groaned rubbing her head and collapsing into a nearby chair, suddenly exhausted from the lack of sleep and searching the whole kitchen including it's contents (it wouldn't have been the first time Shane decided to hide something in the cereal box!)

"What were you thinking? You must have known what would happen!"

"Sorry" Jason mumbled. He was clearly still half asleep from the way he yawned and rubbed his eyes making Layla feel sorry for him. She had obviously woke him up with all the noise she had been creating. Slowly he shuffled across the floor towards her and sat down. Gently he took her hand off her head and inspected the damage. She winced as he softly felt around the area and tried to pull back but he stopped her when he insisted that he was only trying to help.

"It's okay. I don't think there will be any permanent damage but you'll have to wear a hat or something cos that's gonna leave a pretty big bruise."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious Jason." She muttered darkly before taking his hand off her head and going back to her previous task of looking for her meds. "When did you become such a medical genius?"

"Mitchie's big sister Theresa's a doctor. I guess I listened a little while she was trying to persuade Mitchie to become a doctor too." Jason said, now more awake as he sat back in his chair and watched her flitting around the room with interest, wondering exactly what it was she was looking for.

"The medical profession's quite interesting actually. I think I would have liked to be a doctor if I hadn't become a musician."

In the corner, halfway through searching the bread bin, Layla muttered something under her breath but Jason was too busy rambling on about becoming a doctor to notice.

"Damn it!" She hissed angrily when she finally finished searching through the bread and in frustration started throwing it around the room catching Jason's attention when a rouge piece landed on his head.

"Layla what exactly are you looking for?" he asked as he slowly took the offending object of his head and stared at it wondering why she was suddenly using pieces of bread as weapons of destruction.

"My meds okay! My damn meds!" She hissed angrily as she fired more bread around the room aimlessly. " Shane decided to put them somewhere safe except..."

"He forgot where he put them." They said at the same time. Layla turned to him and grinned, all previous anger melting away as they started laughing.

She'd missed this.

She'd missed having people around that knew exactly what she was thinking before she even thought it. When they were younger her, Jason, Nate and Shane were forever finishing each other's sentences, reading each other's mind and coming up with bizarre yet comical secret languages. It drove everyone crazy especially Mrs Gray and Sandy (Jason and Nate's sister) as they were constantly out of the loop but the four of them wouldn't have it any other way. And in a way everyone else wouldn't either. Their friendship was the type that most people could only dream of.

That was the thing she missed the most after they left. The feeling of being around people who knew exactly what she was thinking before she even thought about it and knew were always there was what made her feel safe. Then suddenly one day it was gone. Sure she had that to some extent with Cassie, Nova, Ryan and Elliot but it wasn't the same.

Now she had been reunited with everyone and met Mitchie and Caitlyn she was starting to feel like things were slowly getting back to normal.

"I missed you Jay Jay." She said softly and Jason smiled, getting up from his seat at the kitchen table and hugging her.

"I missed you too Lay Lay."

She giggled at the nickname and Jason pulled away. A look of concentration passed over his face as he focused his attention on something just over the top of her head.

"Layla? Where those meds you were looking for in a bright blue box with silver stars all over it?"

"Yeah. Why?"

Jason didn't say anything instead he just pointed at the spot just above her head he had been looking at. Turning around and looking up, she growled in anger and frustration. Sitting right in front of her in just about the only place she hadn't looked on the highest shelf in the entire kitchen was her medicine box.

"That stupid bastard!" She hissed, grabbing one of the heavy dining room chairs and dragging it along the stone floor, not caring about how much noise she was making. In fact she kinda hoped it would wake Shane up just so she could shout at him for being so dumb as to put something up that high for safe keeping. What reasonable person would put a shelf up that high in the first place? It nearly touched the ceiling for God's sake!

Layla continued muttering obscenities under her breath as she positioned the chair under the shelf and climbed up. Even at full stretch and on her tip toes she couldn't touch the shelf let alone reach the box which was pushed right to the back against the wall! She tried one last time but it was hopeless.

"Bloody hell! How did he get these up here? Even on a chair I can't reach it and he's not that much taller than me!"

Jason chuckled with amusement before grabbing her by the waist and taking her off the chair, placing her on the floor beside him before climbing onto the chair himself.

"First off Lay Shane's at least 4 inches taller than you so it's not gonna be that hard for him especially if he's determined, which we both know he is, and has the right equipment. Secondly not even God knows what goes on in Shane's head. To him this probably seems like a perfectly good hiding place, to everyone else it's just insanity!"

She sighed deeply in defeat watching as he grabbed the box with ease and jumped off the chair landing beside her with minimal effort.

_Must be all that running around on stage_. She thought as she took the box off him and walked over to the fridge; grabbing a bottle of water from the door before returning to the table and Jason.

* * *

They were both sat silently at the kitchen table as she took the 4 different tablets out of their separate bottles and laid them side by side. It wasn't until she was swallowing the last one that Jason finally said something.

"So." He said casually, leaning back in his chair and staring at her softly. "You going to tell me what those are for?"

She gulped and tried not to stare him in the eye. Layla knew at some point that someone would question what thy were for but she hadn't expected it to be this early on-or for the question to have come from Jason. Nate or Shane ? Yes. They always wanted to know what was going on in her life but Easy, care free, not-going-to-get-involved-unless-it's-a-matter-of-life-or-death (or involves some type of bird) Jason? Not so much.

"Would you believe me if I said they were vitamins?"

He shook his head and she sighed.

"Thought not." She muttered. "Fine! But if I tell you you are not to say a word to anyone. You hear me? Especially not Shane! I'll tell him myself when I'm ready."

He was about to open his mouth and protest that he was rubbish at keeping secrets from the other guys when she shot him a look. He instantly shut his mouth and pouted, annoyed that she had worked out what he was thinking but determined to know what was going on.

"Fine."

She dropped the look and took a deep breath, readying herself for what was about to come. This would be the first time she'd told someone so close what had happened and in her mind it was better that it was Jason she had to tell first and not Shane. As hard as she'd find it to tell Jason she knew it would be nearly unbearable to tell Shane when the time arrived.

**(A/N: Again all of this medical stuff is made up off the top of my head so don't take it as medical fact!)**

"After you left all left for your first tour I started getting sick. It wasn't really anything serious so me and Cassie put it down to missing you guys it wasn't until a couple of months later when I was still getting sick that we realised something was wrong. After months and months of tests they found out that the constant vomiting was a symptom of a genetic defect."

"Wait you mean that thing that your mum had?" Jason asked and she nodded slowly.

"Yes. Except a different strain, not so progressive but still dangerous. The type I have is one that they can control but it requires various medications and constant observation to ensure they work correctly. By the time they caught it and found the right course of drugs it had affected my stomach and heart. That's why they gave me these." She said picking up 3 bottle's containing green, blue and bright pink tablets. "The green ones stop me from being sick all the time, The blue one's stop my heart from further stress and the pink ones slow down the progression of the condition. It's a lot of fussing around but if it means I won't end up like mum it will be worth it."

"So you're not going to die?"

She hesitated for a second before sighing and leaning back into her chair.

"No Jason it doesn't mean that I'm not going to die it just means that it wont happen for a long time."

"How long?" He asked hoarsely, his throat tightening with emotion. He couldn't believe that they'd just got her back and now she was telling him that she was seriously sick!

"They say if I stay at the stage I'm at now I will end up living for at least another 15-20 years."

"15-20 years!" Jason whispered loudly. "Layla that means you'll be dead before you're 40! How can you sit there all calm and composed knowing that? I would be screaming and hollering in protest or something!"

"Because it's longer that my mum got!" She told him, trying to keep her emotions in check. "You saw what she was like! After first showing symptoms she only lived for 3 years and most of them were in constant pain. I'll have at least 15 years to live my life to the fullest and I won't suffer at least a 100th of what my mother did. Sure I'm upset and all the rest but I'm trying to deal with it in the best way I can and that's thinking positively. I know this is difficult to take in at the moment but as hard as it may seem now you will find a way to cope too- eventually."

Jason sighed and swallowed the lump in his throat before flashing her a slight smile.

"I guess you're right. It'll just take me a while to wrap my head around it."

She nodded in understanding and the pair went back to sitting in silence. It was soon broken though when Jason asked her what the other pills were for.

Layla tensed up slightly as she stared down at the bottle of white tablets sitting in front of her.

She had hoped when she told him about the others her wouldn't have noticed that she left one out but once again Jason's eagle eyes and curiosity had struck again.

Layla hesitated for a second debating whether or not to tell him. What she had just told him must have come as a shock and she didn't know how well he'd cope if she told him any more.

Reading her mind like usual he reached across the table and touched her hand gently.

"Layla I know you don't think I can handle whatever you're about to say but please just tell me. I want to know."

She sighed and bit her bottom lip nervously before nodding in agreement. She'd have to tell him at some point so she might as well get it over and done with in one go instead of prolonging it unnecessarily. Sort of like ripping of a band aid. Better to do it quickly. It would only cause problems later if she didn't.

* * *

"When I was 15 I had this boyfriend."She started slowly pausing for a second before Jason encouraged her to continue. "I had this boyfriend and his name was Kyle. He went to the same school as me and he and his twin sister were a couple of years older than me.

We had been dating for a year or so when I finally decided to come clean about everything. I told him about living at Sunflower House, Being in and out of hospital, everything. I even told him about you guys and how Shane was my brother. I didn't really want to but he'd been really distant for a couple of months and I thought it was because he had found out that I hadn't told him everything.

At first things started to get better. We were really close again and did everything together but in reality it had only got worse. He managed to convince me that everyone was lying to me that they only cared for me because they felt sorry for me and I believed him. I began to distance myself from everyone even Cassie because I truly believed that he was telling the truth.

The only thing I didn't give up on though was the hope that you would all come back for me until one day he caught me looking at a picture of the four of us that I'd stuck in the back of my locker. He started telling me that Shane left me because he didn't love me and that you all stopped talking to me because you realised I was worthless. He told me that he was the only one who could ever put up with me let alone love me and eventually I believed him. Looking back on it now it was silly. Everyone told me he was lying but I refused to believe them. He had managed to convince me that he was the only person I could trust in.

I finally snapped out of it though when I caught him cheating on me with another girl. He confessed to her that he loved her and he was only screwing around with my mind for fun. I was so angry and upset when I realised what he'd done that I stormed straight up to him, slapped him across the face and told him it was over. I thought that was the end of it but he didn't take to kindly to being told what to do by a 17 year old girl. He started stalking me until finally a couple of months ago he..he.."

"He what Layla?" Jason urged softly, reaching across the table and grabbing her hand supportively.

"He attacked me on my way home from school. Oh no not like that!" She added quickly realising that he was thinking of something else when she saw the thunderous look on his face and felt his grip on her hand tighten.

"No not even he would do that but he did beat me up pretty badly. Fractured my left arm and broke a couple of ribs as well as some serious bruises, landing me in hospital for a while,but that was all. Physically I healed up quite quickly but I started having panic attacks and flashbacks whenever I left the house. That's why they gave me those little white pills. There about the only thing that stop me from losing it every time I set foot outside the house and don't affect my other meds. I have therapy sessions every other week and I'm slowly coming off them but until I can leave the house without having another flashback these little pills are going to be around for a while."

When she'd finished she noticed that Jason's face was red with anger and his grip on her hand was still tight but he looked slightly less angry than he did before.

"I can't believe someone would do something like that!" He yelled angrily as he got up and began pacing the kitchen angrily before stopping and turning to her. "Please tell me you pressed charges against that slimy bastard."

Layla shook her head slowly and Jason stared at her in shock.

"What!" He exploded, throwing his arms around angrily as he continued his manic pacing. "How could you not press charges against him. He mentally and physically abused you! How could you let him fucking get away with something like that?!"

"I didn't want to!" She yelled back before realising they were probably getting a little too loud and lowering her voice. "I had no choice. When Ryan and his friends found out they went straight over and beat the shit out of him, he was in a worse state then me by the time they'd finished.

It was touch and go for a while whether he'd even pull through. They warned him that if he ever came never me again they'd finish the job. He kept his promise and never came near me again but his sister was always in my face whenever she got the chance.

She said that she knew that it was Ryan and the other's who beat her brother up and that if I ever pressed charges against him she'd make sure they'd all go to jail for what they'd done to him. I couldn't let that happen so I dropped the charges a week ago."

Jason calmed down a little but Layla could still tell that he was angry by the way the muscles in his jaw had suddenly tightened up and he started muttering under his breath.

"Well at least that creep got his ass kicked. I still think you should press charges anyway. I mean he's hardly going to say that Ryan beat him up because then he'd have to admit to what he'd done."

She sighed and ran her hands through her hair.

"It's not a simple as that Jason." She said quietly as she looked down at the table.

"How is it not simple?You call the police and tell them you want to continue with pressing charges. I'm sure they want him off the streets as much as you do. Unless..." He said seeing the pained expression on her face. "There's something you're not telling me. What is it you're not telling me Layla?"

"Kyle wasn't-_isn't_- just some guy." She said slowly looking him in the eyes. "He's full name's Kyle Michael _**Torres**_..."

"Mitchie's brother?!" Jason finished for her and she nodded sadly

He couldn't believe it. How could her ex-boyfriend be Mitchie's brother? They were so different from each other it couldn't be true but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. He knew that Mitchie had grown up in the same area as they had and that she had younger siblings who still lived in the area. 19 year old twins in fact called Kyle and Casey.

He gasped as the final bit clicked into place.

"You knew didn't you?That's why you stopped talking to Shane and were so distant from Mitchie when you first met her. You knew she was Kyle's sister and thought she might be the same!"

She nodded again, a little ashamed that she thought that someone as sweet and kind as Mitchie could be as bad as her brother.

"When Shane told me he got married I looked him up online. He got married around the same time it all started and I'd missed it because Kyle had convinced me that thinking about you all in anyway would be too painful. I never understood why he acted that way but when I saw that Mitchie married Shane I realised it must have had something to do with those two getting together. I mean look at it. He only got really bad when I told him I was Shane's sister and the week they got married he disappeared and came back telling me that I was to forget everything to do with Connect 3 especially Shane."

"But why would he do that?" Jason asked, seriously confused by this latest revelation. His brain had already been stretched to the limit and now the situation Layla was in had become to big to comprehend.

She shrugged.

"I dunno. It could be anything. I can't even begin to understand what was going through his head at the time but what I do know is that it's in my past and I want to try and move on. That means no filing police reports and no talking about this from now on okay?"

"But..."

Jason stopped though when he heard a loud crash in the front room followed by the sound of people waking up.

"Oh shit." Layla swore softly as she grabbed the box off the table and began throwing everything back into it. She had spent so long talking to Jason that she hadn't found a good hiding spot for her meds and now everyone was getting up!

* * *

She rushed out of the room and down the corridor towards the room where Shane had dropped all her stuff off in search of a good hiding place.

Racing into the room she quickly changed and stashed her medicine box away in a cupboard and began searching for something to wear. Finally deciding on a bright white flowing cami with pink flowers up the side, black skinny jeans and shocking pink strappy sandals.

She had just finished strapping up her shoes and was checking her reflection in the mirror before she realised that she'd left Jason all alone in the kitchen. Not only that but she hadn't reminded him to keep her secret! He was a sweet guy and everything but just like her brother he had a memory like a sieve (except strangely enough not when it came to her and birds!).Layla yanked open the door and barreled out of the room as fast as she could in 4 inch heels, tripping over a shoe carelessly abandoned by the door; literally falling into the kitchen where she crashed straight into an unsuspecting and lightly depressed looking Jason, causing both of them to fall down in a tangled mess of limbs.

"Layla!" He shouted frustrated as they managed to de-tangle themselves and stand up. He brushed him self off and cursed her under his breath for the rip in his new jeans caused by Layla's heels before turning to her, looking for an explanation.

"Sorry Jason I didn't mean to I just wanted to make sure you were still here!"

Jason looked at her confused.

"Why wouldn't I be here? I mean it's not like I've suddenly found something really important to do in the last 15 minutes!"

"Well it wasn't really to make sure you were here..." She said hesitantly. "It was more to make sure you hadn't told any of the others yet. Especially Shane."

"Oh." He said as he finally realised what she was asking of him. "So you don't want me to tell them about you being sick or about Kyle?"

"Please Jay." She said desperately. "I swear I'll tell Shane on my own when I'm ready. Just not now. You have to promise you wont tell them!"

Jason bit his bottom lip nervously, thinking seriously about what she was asking him. For Jason keeping secrets had never been easy. He hated the idea of keeping something from someone else meaning that any secret he told would quickly become common knowledge in less than a week. He was even worse at it when it came to keeping secrets from Shane and Nate not only because they were his best friends and didn't want to hide anything from them but as his best friends they knew how to talk him around into doing whatever they wanted him to do. It was for that reason and that reason only that Jason wasn't sure if he could keep this secret knowing that it would cause pain to so many people when the truth finally came out.

She waited patiently for his answer growing more nervous by the second as more voices entered the mix in the front room and became stronger. She kept her cool though until she heard Shane announce that he was going into the kitchen and officially started to freak out.

"Please." She said desperately. " Promise me you wont tell them."

Sensing the desperation in her voice and seeing it in her eyes he finally came to a decision. Now he just had to pray that it was the right one.

"I promise."


	8. Chapter 7

**a/n: Okay slightly shorter than the last chapter but still quite long! I've got another 2 chapters already written up but they might not b up for a while as I've got a load of work to do for college but I'll try to get them up ASAP.**

**Thanks for reading this and I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Chapter 7

**Back in the front room with the others:**

"Jesus what was that!" Shane yelled as he was rudely awakened by something hitting the ground. Hard.

He shot up from the position he was in on the floor to see Caitlyn flat out on the ground, groaning and cursing under her breath as she tried to sit up without causing herself any more pain. It was obvious from the look on her face and the way she was grumbling that she'd just fallen off the edge of the pullout couch she and Nate had crashed on last night.

Shane sighed. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Caitlyn was notorious for falling asleep in the most inconvenient (and usually awkward) places usually resulting in her falling over and hurting her self in some peculiar and often funny way. The best being the time they were on tour and she had fallen asleep backstage with her microphone still attached. Nate had gone bright red before running off the stage to wake her up as she began talking in her sleep about their night time activities in detail. Luckily for her and Nate it was just a run through for the concert that night and not the actual thing because as embarrassing as it was for them then it would have been even worse if it had been in front of tens of 1000's of people!

Shane smirked a little at the memory of seeing Caitlyn so embarrassed. It wasn't that they didn't like each other (in fact they were like brother and sister) it was just that they liked winding each other up. Sort of like a kind of sibling rivalry type of thing.

This time though wasn't nearly as entertaining. From the looks of it she had fallen off the edge of the bed she had been hanging off, dangerously close to the coffee table and eventually gravity took its toll causing her to come crashing down to the ground. Usually it was quite amusing watching what mess she would get herself in to but at 6 am on a Saturday, just 4 days before Camp Rock started and the madness began for 5 weeks? Surprisingly not so funny!

Shane couldn't help himself from laughing quietly to himself though as he watched his friend sleepily wipe her eyes and yawn before inspecting her self for any obvious damage. Once she was sure she was okay she started searching the room to make sure she hadn't woken anyone up and more importantly -that no one had seen her fall of the edge of the sofa, crashing straight into the coffee table sending things flying everywhere.

"Enjoy your trip?" Shane eventually called out causing Caitlyn to jump as she swiveled around from her position on the floor to stare at him, her face starting to go a bright shade of red. Out of all the people she could have woken up in the room it had to be Shane!

Too embarrassed to say anything coherent and too sleepy to come up with any of her trademark witty remarks she did the only thing she knew he would understand.

She slowly and defiantly flipped him off..

Shane dramatically put his hand to his heart in mock hurt.

"Caitlyn Rose Carter! I am offended!"

Caitlyn didn't say anything instead she just glared at him, daring him to do stare back. Unfortunately for her he was up to the challenge and instantly locked eyes with her. Although both were tired and finding it difficult to keep their eyes open neither one wanted to give the other the satisfaction of knowing they'd beaten them so the just sat there staring at each other. They both knew that it would end ugly but that didn't stop them from trying to stare each other down.

"Stop staring at each other it's starting to get creepy." Nate mumbled sleepily causing the two of them to break eye contact to turn at the same time and look at him. Secretly both were glad for the interruption and the fact that they had both turned at the same time, breaking all contact completely. No one wanted a repeat of the last time one of them had turned before the other. It had been two days full of Shane constantly rubbing it in Caitlyn's face that she lost until she finally snapped and smacked him around the head repeatedly with a rolled up copy of Hot Tune Magazine. Mitchie and Nate had to prise her off him and calmly but seriously inform them that if they didn't stop being so competitive with each other they'd both quickly become single and eventually turn into hermits shunned by the rest of society for their childish ways. That had been a couple of years ago now and they hadn't been so competitive since then but they still had their moments.

Nate turned towards them slightly, one eye firmly shut trying to hang onto any ounce of sleep he could- the other watching the interaction between the two.

"We weren't doing anything." Shane said defiantly from his position on the other side of the room.

"Yes you were." Nate argued finally giving up on trying to sleep and sitting up fully against the back of the sofa. Today was obviously one of those days and it didn't look like it was going to end anytime soon. "You do it every time it happens. Shane you get all cranky and Caitlyn you get annoyed not only because you've fallen and made an idiot out of yourself but because it's always Shane who sees you do it."

"I AM NOT!" Both of them yelled at the same time. Although the two were constantly at war with each other there was one thing they agreed on. They both hated when Nate and Mitchie treated them like little children. Neither cared though that the only reason they treated them like kids was because they acted like kids!

"Yes guys you are." Mitchie groaned from her position next to Shane and everyone's eyes went wide. This wasn't good.

6:30+Saturday morning+Late night x Camp Rock starting in less than a week= A very bitchie Mitchie!

"Oh shit." Shane mumbled and his face suddenly drained of all colour upon seeing the stern look on his wife's face.

"You're right "Oh shit!"" She hissed angrily turning on all of her friends and fixing them a death glare which sent Caitlyn scampering to hide behind Nate who wasn't looking too clever himself. Shane would have done the same thing but as Mitchie was the one who was angry he had to settle with hiding behind a potted plant instead, peaking out every once in a while to check if the coast was clear.

"It's 6:30 in the fucking morning! Who caused me to be up at such a ridiculous time in the morning WHEN I DON'T NEED TO BE!"

Oh God this was bad! Mitchie only swore when she was really pissed off! Everyone started scrambling around for an excuse as to what had happened tripping over their words as each tried to get their own explanation out before the others. Eventually they gave up and did what any sensible person would do in this life or death situation.

"It was him!" Caitlyn pointed accusingly at Shane. Shane gasped and narrowed his eyes at her

"It was her!" Shane said at the same time pointing his finger at her. Caitlyn attempted to stare him down with her most evil of glares but compared to Mitchie's it was like water off a duck's back to Shane.

"I'm innocent Mitchie I swear! Please don't kill me!" Nate pleaded as he launched himself off the sofa bed and started openly groveling. It was only when everyone turned and shot him a stranger look that he realised he'd said it out loud and coughed nervously as his face slowly turned red. "I mean it wasn't me it was both of them."

"Way to stand up for your best friend dude." Shane hissed as Mitchie stared him and Caitlyn down, obviously ready for a fight Although the madness seen in her eyes a couple of minutes ago had lessened slightly it was clear that if they weren't very careful for the next couple of minutes someone would end up hurt. And one thing was for sure. It wouldn't be Mitchie.

"Best friend what about his wife!" Caitlyn shrieked as she became increasingly worried about her best friend's current behaviour. "You're supposed to stand up for me not feed me to the dogs!"

Mitchie quickly took her attention of Shane and focused it completely on Caitlyn who upon realising her mistake had started to lose all colour in her face.

"Erm Mitchie you know I didn't mean it." She said, back pedaling as she slowly crawled away from her best friend who had stood up and was quickly advancing on her, gritting her teeth angrily. Not looking where she was going and only thinking about how she could possibly get out of this situation without starting a major slanging match she just kept backing up until she hit something solid. Unfortunately this something solid was yet another table upon which a vase of flowers was precariously sitting-right next to the pull out sofa bed Jason and Layla were laying on. She looked up to see what had happened and the group collectively held their breaths. As bad as their rude awakenings had been a surprise vase of flowers in your face first thing in the morning had to be the worst (Something Shane knew only too well).

"Please don't fall over...Please don't fall over." They all chanted in their heads as the vase rocked backwards and forwards. It soon become clear what was going to happen and with no way of stopping it the guys just sat there and covered their ears, waiting for the scream that was bound to come.

But there was none.

* * *

Slowly Mitchie opened one eye and removed her hands from her ears. She crept across the floor on her hands and knees and cautiously peeked over the back of the sofa.

"They're not here guys." She said as she stared down at the mess on the sofa but no annoyed (and obviously wet) Layla and Jason. They all let out a collective sigh of relief before instantly becoming curious and slightly worried as to the whereabouts of the other two members of the group.

"Well if they're not there then where are they?" Caitlyn asked.

It was then that they heard voices in the distance. Making their way towards the noise they slowly creeped across the room and stood listening outside the kitchen door.

"Please Jay." Layla begged and they could notice the desperation in her voice, instantly making their ears prick up out of worry. " I swear I'll tell Shane on my own when I'm ready. Just not now. You have to promise me you wont tell them!"

At the sound of his name Shane instantly straightened up and went to enter the kitchen; ready to find out exactly what she was hiding from him but before he could the others had grabbed him and dragged him back into the front room.

"What the hell are you doing?" They hissed at him.

"What the hell am I doing? I'm going in there that's what I'm doing! What the hell are you doing!?" He yelled before realising it would draw unwanted attention to him from Jason and Layla so lowered his voice to a whisper. " Layla's keeping a secret from me and I want to know what it is so if you'll excuse me..."

He made a move to go back to the kitchen but Caitlyn pulled him back with force before he even got the chance.

"You dumb ass! You can't just walk in their and demand that she tells you her secret!" She whispered fiercely.

"Oh yeah." Shane said putting on an act of defiance although he knew she was right. "Why can't I?"

"She's right Shane." Mitchie the voice of reason among the group added calmly. She knew that if she didn't sort this out now things would just escalate and eventually spiral out of control."If you go marching in their right now demanding she tell you all you'll do is piss her off and ruin any chance of you two ever getting back to the way you were before. Do you want that?"

Shane looked down at the ground and stared at his shoes.

"No." He mumbled, still staring at the ground.

Nate and Caitlyn started to giggle at the interaction between the two before Mitchie glared at them causing them both to gulp nervously at what she had planned for them.

"Then what do we do?" Nate asked. He was just as worried about Shane about what she was hiding and wanted to know now rather than later so he could do something about it. "She's obviously hiding something important. What if she's in trouble or..."

He suddenly yelped in pain. Caitlyn had elbowed him in between the ribs.

"You're not helping." She hissed angrily.

Nate just scowled and rubbed the spot where she had elbowed him before silently sulking.

Mitchie rolled her eyes at Nate's childishness before turning to her husband who was once again itching to get into the kitchen and wrangle the truth out of her thanks to Nate's latest comment.

"Here's what we do." She said calmly, holding Shane by his arms and looking him straight in the eye. "We go in there like nothing has happened. We weren't eavesdropping and they weren't talking about some secret. Then casually we bring up that we over heard then talking and if it's anything interesting. That way they can tell us on their own and no one will get hurt. Or they could tell us nothing and we find out later. Either way they know that we have an idea that something is going on but they don't feel pressurised into anything and you don't end up pushing Layla further away."

"Wow great plan Mitch!" Caitlyn said, amazed at how someone who was on the brink of causing another world war just a couple of minutes ago had come up with such a detailed plan in such a short amount of time.

"Yeah great plan Mitchie." Shane said sarcastically. "Except what do I do if she doesn't tell me?"

"You do nothing." Caitlyn insisted. "If she doesn't want to tell you anything then you leave it alone."

"But."

Caitlyn shot him such a deadly look that he instantly shut up.

"You leave her and Jason alone you got it?" She said harshly causing shivers to go up everyone's spines (including Mitchie).

Shane nodded slowly and gulped out of fright. Caitlyn could be very scary when she was serious.

"I'll leave them alone." He said quietly but in his mind that was the furthest from the truth. They were hiding something and one way or another he was going to find out.

"Great now we've got that sorted out." Mitchie said cheerfully. "Shane can go in first!"

* * *

Shane was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Mitchie shove him forcefully towards the kitchen. He stumbled slightly as he tried to stop himself from falling flat on his face. Once he'd corrected himself he took a deep breath before straightening out and opening the door.

Not wanting them to catch on that he was up to something he lazily shuffled across the floor towards the coffee machine and sleepily carried out his morning routine. After pouring himself a cup of coffee and grabbing an apple out of the fruit basket he finally looked up and spotted the two sitting at the table. Although he didn't look at them he knew that Layla had been watching him intently ever since he entered the room.

"Oh hey guys." He said cheerfully causing both Layla and Jason to groan. Unlike the others Shane was a morning person and was always at his brightest within minutes of waking up. This annoyed everyone else who took at least two cups of coffee, breakfast and a couple of hours to feel like they could interact with another human being without biting their heads off.

"Hi Shane." Layla said quietly not only surprising Shane but also herself. Although they had all stayed up last night talking and having fun she still hadn't said talked to him voluntarily since she found out he had got married without telling her.

It was then that she realised that she should really try to get to know her brother better. After telling Jason everything it dawned on her that she actually did need her brother in her life and that the best way for that to happen was to at least start talking to him again. She wasn't ready to let him back into her life completely like before but she could start making an effort. No matter how hard she was finding it.

Beside her Jason remained in stony silence. Worried that Shane would notice and start asking questions she subtly kicked him under the table.

He yelped and jumped in his chair before sending her a death glare which she quickly returned before slightly nodding her head towards Shane, drawing his attention to the fact that Shane was now staring at them strangely.

Finally getting what she was talking about he dropped the glare and turned to face Shane.

"Hi Shane." he mumbled before dropping his gaze and staring at the table again.

Layla sighed and shook her head.

Why out of all the people she had chosen to tell why did she have to tell Jason? Not only was he bad at keeping secrets but he was always the worst when it came to getting bad news.

She remembered the day that they learned that Nate and Jason's parents had died in a car crash. It had been a couple of weeks before Jason's 15th birthday and although she couldn't remember much she knew that apart from occasionally talking to their sister Sandy who was now looking after them both he and Nate were silent for days. Nate eventually started talking again but Jason went further. He stopped speaking completely and would shut himself from everyone for days on end, not eating or sleeping before he'd finally break down then the process would start all over again. It took almost 3 years for him to get back to normal. Well almost normal. Something had changed in him and although he was still be the kind, funny, bird loving Jason they all loved he would occasionally close himself off from people for a couple of days then return to normal. She, Nate and Shane had gotten used to it but the others hadn't. That's why when they casually walked into the room a couple of minutes after Shane, Mitchie and Caitlyn immediately rushed over to him and started fussing.

Nate just made his way towards Shane and studied his brother with a hint of worry in his eyes.

"What happened this time." Nate whispered to Shane as they watched their wives try to interact with Jason.

He shrugged. Shane was just as much in the dark as Nate was. Usually when this happened something would trigger it. The last time it had been when there was a huge car accident outside the recording studio just over 5 years ago. Two people had died in the accident and Jason had stopped talking for 3 weeks, pushing back the release of their new album and delaying the tour Shane had previously caused to be canceled by a further 2 months as they tried to convince him to leave his room.

"Well somethings got to have caused it!" Nate hissed as he searched the room for anything that might have caused him to suddenly start behaving like this. "He can't just suddenly become all... unless..."

It was then that they finally noticed. Layla!She hadn't said a word since saying hi to Shane and had become withdrawn (much like Jason); doing everything in her power to make sure she didn't make eye contact with anybody especially the other members of Connect 3.

Suddenly it dawned on him and Shane.

"Layla!" Nate said in shock. "It has to be something she said that caused this. There's no other explanation. But what could she have told him that would cause this?"

Shane didn't have a chance to answer because Jason suddenly started yelling and screaming at Mitchie and Caitlyn.

"JUST GET OUT OF MY FACE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" He exploded in their faces as he forcefully pushed away from the table and sent his chair flying. They all winced as the chair hit the floor and Jason stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"I better go see if he's okay." Layla whispered silently as she slowly followed Jason out of the room, leaving Mitchie and Caitlyn staring after them in shock.

Shane and Nate waited a couple of minutes making sure that both Jason and Layla were out of earshot before turning toward their wives.

"What the heck was that?"

Mitchie and Caitlyn were still in shock over what they had just seen. Jason had never behaved like that, especially with Mitchie and Caitlyn. He always treated them like his little sisters for him to do something like this was totally out of character -for them anyway.

"Well?" Nate prompted impatiently. Although younger than Jason he was just as protective about him as Shane was with Layla. The fact that whatever had caused Jason to relapse was due to something that Layla told him only made him more anxious.

Eventually the shock wore off and Mitchie spoke up.

"We were just asking him what was wrong." She said silently staring down at her hands as she played with the hem of her t shirt. "And then he..he.."

Shane and Nate sighed at the sad looks on their faces. It was time they told them the truth.

* * *

Once they finished Mitchie and Caitlyn understood why he had reacted that way and that it wasn't really their fault but it didn't make them feel any better.

"Poor Jason." Caitlyn whispered sadly. "I knew that your parents death was a big deal but I didn't think it affected him that badly."

"He was always really close to our parents." Nate choked out as he stared into the distance thinking about his parents and the life he and his siblings had had before their parents had died with tears in his eyes. "Our parents had Sandy really young and didn't have Jason until she was 18 and had left home so before I came along it was only really them and him. They got on really well and when they died he just shut down."

Caitlyn reached across the table and squeezed his hand sympathetically.

"That couldn't have been easy." She said softly and Nate nodded sadly.

They heard a slight cough from behind them and turned around to see Layla standing their staring at them awkwardly.

"Erm..Jason's locked himself in his room and said he wont come out." She said quietly.

Nate sighed and slowly dragged himself out of the room silently. Someone had to try and get him out of his room and if anyone could it was Nate.

* * *

Once Nate left the atmosphere in the room suddenly got very awkward and slightly tense. Shane knew that whatever Layla said had caused Jason to be in this state and that worried him. A lot. Jason had never been this bad before for no reason and as much as Shane wanted to believe it wasn't true it was obviously something very bad that Layla had told him that caused him to become so upset. Knowing this he was more determined than ever to find out what was going on but thanks to Caitlyn's evil glare and warning not to push Layla into telling him he was a little scared of saying anything. So instead he just stared at her. Usually this worked perfectly and she'd be telling him everything in a matter of seconds but what Shane take into consideration was just how stubborn his sister could be. Like Shane Layla could be very stubborn when she wanted to and it was obvious from the way she was refusing to look him in the eye, constantly staring at the ground that she knew what was going on at refused to give in.

Since Layla entered the room she hadn't looked any of them directly in the eye. In fact she hadn't even looked up from her feet. She knew that if she did they would instantly work out something was wrong and start asking her questions. The worse of course would be Shane. She couldn't blame him really he was her big overprotective brother it was sort of in the title but she didn't have the heart (or the guts) to tell him the truth. Not yet and especially not after the way Jason had reacted. She felt bad enough already. Nope it would have to wait until she was ready-preferably until after Camp Rock had finished that way she wouldn't feel bad about ruining everybody's Summer. That meant there was only one thing to do. Stare as hard at the floor as she possibly could and thinking of a way to get out without seeming to suspicious while trying her hardest to ignore Shane's constant staring knowing that if she looked up she would tell him everything and she was determined not to give anything away.

Caitlyn and Mitchie just sat in the middle watching a strange type of interest as the atmosphere got more and more tense. It was clear to them that neither one was going to give up soon and that the situation was only going to get worse but the siblings didn't seem to get the message. They just continued staring and avoiding until finally one of them relented.

"Er..I'm gonna go and have a look around." Layla said nervously, shifting on the spot as she finally raised her eyes from the floor and looked anywhere but at Mitchie, Caitlyn and especially Shane.

"I'll go with you." Shane almost stumbled over his words as he jumped out of his chair and made his way towards the front door of the cabin. This was the perfect opportunity to find out what was going on and there was no way in hell that he was going to miss it. He didn't get very far though because Layla stuck out her arm and blocked the doorway before he could even get anywhere; stopping him so abruptly that he almost lost his balance and fell flat on his ass.

"No Shane. I want to go do this myself." She said determined. "I just need to go think for a little while on my own okay."

Shane was about to argue when he saw the look of warning on Caitlyn and Mitchie's faces and stopped. He sighed defeated and nodded. She was right and he knew it but he so desperately wanted to know what was happening that as he watched her slowly walk away there was only one thought running through his head.

What if there was something seriously wrong with her?


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry this chapter's not as long as the others but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and like usualy I don't own Camp Rock or any of the sharacters except the ones I have created and the plot.**

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Chapter 8

When Connect 3 and their friend's agreed to come back to Camp Rock just over 3 years ago and be councilors Brown had built two massive cabins for them- both had at least 5 bedrooms, a living room, 3 bathrooms and kitchen containing everything that they would ever need. He'd bought a section of land next to the camp and built them on the edge of a woods that stretched far into the distance. The only way to get to or from the cabins was a dirt road leading to Camp Rock or a pathway which ran through the woods ending up just outside Brown's cabin on the Camp Rock grounds. This meant that the cabins were almost totally secluded from the camp as the campers who could drive weren't allowed to bring their cars (Camp Rock rule #4) and you'd have to be crazy to climb up the massive hill the cabins were perched upon . It was great if you wanted to escape all the screaming Connect 3 fans (and there was a lot of them) or enjoy the brilliant view but not so great if you needed to make the walk down the hill everyday to the camp. The others had got used to it eventually but preferred to drive the distance unless they had a huge breakfast to burn off and an hour or so to kill off.

Luckily that was exactly what Layla had (the extra time not the breakfast!) so she quickly grabbed her bag and dashed out the door and down the winding path to Camp Rock.

Shane and the others had warned her that it was rarely used and when ever they did walk to Camp Rock it was easy to lose your way. It was even easier when you'd never been to Camp Rock in your entire life and just minutes after rushing out of her cabin Layla was lost. Fortunately she had had the common sense to not follow the fork in the road that led into the woods but had followed the path into a large clearing. Unfortunately for Layla there had been another path (the path that took her straight to Camp Rock) and she'd missed it; instead ending up in the area that was used for the Midnight Jam. She knew this because as she cursed herself for her stupidity she kicked out and accidentally whacked a sign proclaiming that she'd reached the Midnight Jam area and that she was exactly 1.5 miles from the main camp grounds!

_Great!_ She thought sarcastically as she sighed and sat down heavily on a huge boulder. _More Walking!_

She sat thinking about how she was going to get to camp with no clear markings or path to follow when she finally got fed up and just carried on walking in the same direction as before. There were no trees around here so it wasn't like she would get lost in the middle of the woods and it was just all fields so eventually she'd find something soon...right?

Might as well do some exploring while she was around it wasn't like she was doing anything important... just hiding from her brother, best friends and their wives while feeling guilty about telling Jason and not telling Shane. Yep. Nothing important at all.

She sighed. Why did things always have to be so complicated? Why couldn't life be simple? Why couldn't it...

She was puled out of her thoughts when she saw a cabin in the distance.

_Yes! Civilisation!_

She grinned and quickly started running towards the cabin.

As she got closer she realised it was an outbuilding for Camp Rock. By the looks of it it wasn't used very often but she didn't care about that as unusually for the time of year but fitting in with her current mood it had started raining and rain was quickly soaking through her light summer clothes.

* * *

Rushing into the building she slammed the door behind her and sighed as she leaned her head against it; listening to the rain and wind picking up and pummeling against the wooden cabin. Eventually when she'd caught her breath she started looking around the cabin. The first room wasn't much, just a sofa and a coffee table pushed into one corner of the room covered in dust from years of not being used but the second room was something completely different. Opening the door she stepped in and saw a fully state of the art dance studio and gym. Surprised she did a double take before cautiously entering the room.

This couldn't be right she must have been in the wrong place or trespassed on someone else's property or something. The whole cabin looked like it had been abandoned and left to rot so what was a fully kitted out dance studio complete with surround sound system doing in the middle of nowhere?

Also Camp Rock was specifically for music and the occasional lesson on how to dance on stage without looking like a total idiot but this was completely different. Layla had been a member of the local dance and gymnastic teams winning medal after medal since she was 4 but in all the schools she'd been to dedicated only to these activities she'd never seen such sophisticated equipment. Not even at the posh fancy one she'd visited while on tour with her dance group when she was 14. And that was private costing well over $9,000 a term!

Unable to resist the temptation of a totally empty dance studio and a brand new sound system she quickly dug out her i-pod from her bag and connected it to the speaker system. Her favourite song started pumping through the speakers and before she could stop herself she began dancing to the beat. In the full length mirror she could see that she was sweating uncontrollably and looked a mess but she didn't care. Dancing, singing and gymnastics were her life no matter how hard anyone tried to convince her to stop. When she had gotten sick the doctors had advised her that she shouldn't put too much stress on her heart and that she would have to cut down on the amount of sport she participated in. She agreed and immediately dropped track, basketball and hockey but she refused to give up the things she loved so dearly. Eventually the doctors relented and agreed that she could keep participating in dance and gym competitions but she had to follow strict instructions, have her medication increased and they had insisted she had a check up every 2 months instead of every 6. To Layla it was a small price to pay if it meant that she could carry on doing what she was born to do. Not even Kyle could stop her no matter how hard he tried.

Oh he thought he had and it was just easier for everyone if Layla didn't correct him. He had constantly told her that it was stupid and childish to participate in something so stupid as competitions. She had nodded along and played the part telling him that he was right but once he'd left she'd dig her kit out of the trash or wherever he'd thrown it, wash it and carry on like nothing had happened. Nothing and she meant nothing could keep her from what she loved.

Layla smiled as the song finished and a slower more mellow sound filled the room. She quickly changed her steps to fit in with the rhythm and began to sing along. As she twirled around the room with her eyes closed; completely lost in the music she was oblivious to the sound of a door opening and a strange figure slowly creeping into the room. It was only when the music stopped and she heard clapping that she realised someone else was in the room and gasped; putting a hand to her chest as she tried to regulate her breathing due to exhaustion and shock.

She slowly turned around and saw a face she hadn't seen in years. Although it looked a little tired and there were a few more lines than the last time she'd seen it Layla would recognise that face anywhere.

"You rocked that poppet." Brown grinned and Layla squealed as she ran the distance of the studio and launched herself at him. He laughed and spun her around a little before dropping her back on the ground.

Even though they weren't related in any way Layla and Brown had just as close a relationship as him and Shane. Maybe even more so as Brown had become like a substitute dad to Layla after her own father had run out on her, Shane and their mother before she was even born.

He had even tried adopting her when her mother died but for some reason that no one could explain Rachel Gray **(a/n: i dunno if I've given their mum a name before but if I had it's now Rachel. If I ever write Rachel it's their mum)** had written in her will that unless there was a close blood relative willing to look after her she was to remain in care until her 18th birthday.

With Shane being her only close blood relative other than the father there was no way she could live with Brown and Layla had ended up in care. Shane had never told Brown what he was planning and as a consequence Brown and Layla hadn't had any contact in over 7 years.

"Wow I can't believe you're here!" Layla exclaimed out of shock as they sat down on the studio floor facing each other. Suddenly a thought crossed her mind. "Hang on a minute! Why are you here?"

Brown chuckled a little.

"I own Camp Rock."

Layla's jaw dropped with shock and Brown laughed a little.

"Seriously?"

He nodded.

"Wow so that's how the guys always got in every year although they couldn't afford it and the waiting list was so long."

Brown nodded again.

She shrugged. "Oh well guess that makes sense but that wasn't really what I meant. I meant what are you actually doing _here_. From the looks of that first room no one's been here in years and you don't look wet so you must have been here before the rain started."

"Did you come in the back door?" She nodded and he shook his head slightly in understanding. "That's a sort of meeting room. No one's used that in years but there's another room just off this studio that I use as a place to store all the props for the different jams we have this year. I was making sure they'd all arrived when I got caught in the rain and decided to explore. That's when I found you."

Layla excepted this explanation and got up from her position on the floor to turn off the i pod which had now switched to a heavy bass song which caused her teeth to rattle with the intensity. When she switched it off it the room suddenly became so quiet that she was able to hear the footsteps on the wooden floor as Brown approached her, his hand shoved into his pockets as he watched her carefully.

"So." Brown said fixing her with a serious look. "What was that back there?"

She looked at him confused.

"Err... Dancing?"

Brown looked at her with a serious look on his face for a couple of seconds before breaking into a grin.

"Just dancing? Sweetheart that was more than dancing that was brilliant dancing! And the singing? Wow I always knew you could sing but I didn't think you were that good! You could seriously give your brother a run for his money."

Layla blushed a little and stared down at her shoes in embarrassment. She wasn't the best at receiving compliments.

"I don't think so Uncle Brown. Shane's so much better than me. The others are too."

Brown sighed and lifted her chin so that she had to look up.

"Layla it's in your genes. Your a natural performer just like your brother and your mother. Your voice is amazing and that was some of the best dancing I've never seen. And believe me I've seen a lot of dancers in my time. Which is why I'm offering you the chance to teach the advanced dance class. Our normal instructor dropped out and you'd be the perfect substitute."

"But..but.."

Brown shook his head and put a finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. "No buts."

Layla rolled her eyes and sighed heavily but closed her mouth.

"Just think about it. So far you're not down for any lessons so you'll pretty much have nothing to do for 5 weeks except sit in that cabin and stare at the walls for hours on end. If you take the offer I'll give you full councilors privileges as well as camper privileges meaning you can teach some lessons and take part in others."

"Camper privileges?" She asked confused. "I'm not a camper."

"You are now sweetie. Someone with a voice like yours in a place like this? There's nothing else you can be other than a camper. The minute this rain passes and I get back to camp I'll sign you up."

" Wow Uncle Brown that's really nice of you and I'd love to be a camper I'm just not so sure about the whole teaching thing. I mean I don't have any experience in teaching and the way I dance is more a feeling I don't think I can teach that to other people."

Brown nodded in understanding.

"I get it dancing is in your soul same way as music is in mine. But just try it for a week you might like it."

"And if I don't?" She asked curiously. The more she heard about becoming a dance instructor the more she liked it. She still had her reservations though. The idea of teaching others (some of whom were older than her as the camp was open for those aged 14-20) somehow made her uneasy.

"If you don't like it after a week I'll arrange for someone else to cover until a suitable instructor can be found." He saw her biting her lip and sighed. "Look you don't have to I just thought you might like to try it but if you're too chicken..."

Layla's ears perked up at this and any doubts she had previously disappeared.

"I'll do it!"

The second the words left her mouth Brown grinned and Layla realised she had been played. He knew how competitive she was and just by calling her a chicken she instantly wanted to prove him wrong.

"Argh I can't believe I fell for that!" Layla groaned, leaning back and burying her face in her hand in shame.

Brown chuckled a little and patted her on the knee.

"I'm sorry but you did and now there's no way of getting out of it. In five days time Layla Jayne Winters Gray will officially be a camper and advanced dance instructor at Camp Rock."

Layla sat up at the sound of her name and shook her head vigorously.

"No she won't. I haven't been Layla Jayne Winters Gray since I was 10. LJ Winters will be a camper and instructor at Camp Rock not Layla Jayne Winters Gray."

Brown sucked in a deep breath of air as his eyebrows shot up in shock and surprise.

"You do realise that Shane will flip out when he finds out." Brown stated and she nodded her head in understanding.

"I do but to be honest I don't care. Do you know how hard it was to go through school with a last name like Gray when everyone knew that he was my brother and that he'd left me behind? That's why when I moved into middle school I went to one on the other side of town and dropped the Gray. I've been Layla Jayne "LJ" Winters ever since."

"But things have changed now. Shane's come back and..."

"Things have not changed." Layla snapped fiercely, pain and hatred burning in her eyes. "Just because he came back does not mean that what has happened over the last 7 years has been forgotten. I didn't need him then and I don't need him now. I am not and never was a Gray. Mom only gave me and Shane the same last name because she liked the idea of us all being one big happy family. I am a Winters no matter how much I or Shane or anyone else may hate it and I will not use my brother's name to get recognition. Okay?"

Brown nodded slowly and gulped as he stared at the look of pure anger on the teenagers face. She had calmed down a little but Brown could tell that she was still upset and angry which worried him much like it had worried his nephew. The thing that worried him the most though was the look in her eyes. Sure there was anger and hurt but there was something else. Something that he couldn't quite put his finger on and that was what scared him the most.

"Sorry." She said sheepishly after a couple of minutes when she'd calmed down. "I didn't mean to go off on one like that it's just..."

Brown put a hand on hers and nodded sympathetically. "I get it. You don't have to explain. You want to be recognised on your own not just because of your brother and I respect that."

Layla grinned slightly and leaned over to hug him.

"Thanks Brown."

Brown hugged her back tightly before letting go and standing up; bringing her up with him.

"No problem. Now the rain's stopped and we both have somewhere to go."

"We do?" She asked curiously as she picked up her bag, shoved her i pod into it and rushed after Brown who was now striding across the studio towards the back entrance.

"Of course. I'm guessing you didn't come all the way up here to stand around doing nothing. You wanted to see the camp right?" She nodded. "Well it just so happens that I have a new dance instructor/camper who needs to be registered and given the grand tour of Camp Rock. So what do you think? A quick look around, maybe some lunch then drop you back off at your cabin?"

Layla stood back and pretended to think for a second before grinning and taking off in a run.

"The last one to the next sign for Camp Rock has to pay for lunch!" She yelled over her shoulder as she raced across the dewy grass.

"Oh you're so on!" Brown yelled as he quickly started running after her.

Layla wasn't the only one with a competitive streak.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: Sorry it's kinda short but I hope you like it!**

**Like usual I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters just the ones I have created and the plot.**

* * *

Chapter 9

12 hours later Layla and Brown pulled into the driveway of the cabin Layla was sharing with Connect 3, Mitchie and Caitlyn. As they walked up to to front door laughing and chatting about the day they had had the door suddenly swung open to reveal a very angry Shane. His anger dulled slightly when he saw Brown standing next to her but that didn't stop him from losing his temper completely the second the front door slammed shut.

"12 and a half hours Layla!" He screamed once Brown had left and they were securely in the comfort of the cabin's living room. "We thought something bad had happened for god's sake! Me, Nate, Jason and Sander were searching the pathways to Camp Rock for hours for you! The others spread around the camp and still no one found you what the hell were you doing?!"

Layla suddenly straightened in her chair and started listening to what Shane was saying once she heard Jason's name. Shane had been ranting for the last 10 minutes; pacing the room angrily and throwing his hands around as he told her off for being so late. She had listened for the first minute or so but after a while she just ignored him. Up until now anyway. This latest revelation had really caught her attention.

"Jason left his room?"

Shane nodded and Layla sat back in her seat, shocked.

The shortest Jason had ever stayed in his room for was 3 days and that was only because Sandy had got fed up and dragged him out kicking and screaming; refusing to let him back in until he ate or said something. The idea that he had come out after only a couple of hours seemed totally alien to her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Once he found out you were missing he insisted he would help looking for you." Shane said irritably before shaking his head at her. "But that's not the point. You left Layla without your cell. We had no way of contacting you and then you rock up 12 ½ hours after you left like nothing happened!"

Layla sighed, suddenly bored again by this lecture she was being given by Shane and got up; making her way towards the kitchen. She pulled open the living room door and the others came crashing in. They'd obviously been listening in and were now trying to cover up by coming up with a wide range of different excuses all designed to get them out of trouble.

"Guys I don't care if you were listening it's not really that important anyway." She said casually as she stepped over them and made her way towards the kitchen. Behind her Shane watched with shock before realising that she had left before he'd finished telling her off and chased after her. The others quickly got up and followed not wanting to miss out on what was the biggest argument any of them had seen between the two-well for Mitchie and Caitlyn anyway Jason and Nate had occasionally seen worse but that didn't make this any less interesting!

"I'm not finished with you." He insisted as he followed Layla around the kitchen.

* * *

She sighed as she continued searching the kitchen for something healthy to eat. Brown had insisted that she needed to have some fun so after showing her around camp they'd gone to a local fun fair and spent the rest of the day messing around a pigging out on junk food. As much as she enjoyed it she now desperately felt the need to eat something healthy like an apple or a banana or...

"LAYLA!" Shane yelled causing her to turn around and look at him temporarily halting her quest for something to eat.

"What?"

"I was talking to you and you just got up and left!"

"I thought the conversation had ended Shane after all you had been saying the same thing over and over for the last 15 minutes."

The other drew in a breath and stared wide eyed at Shane; waiting for his reaction. No one had ever spoken to him or treated him the way that Layla was and they could tell it was starting to get to him. For a second they swore they saw the look of "bad Shane" the guy who stormed off sets and caused havoc on his face before it quickly disappeared; replaced with an angry and frustrated look.

"You were gone for 12 and a half hours without telling...."

"Oh for god's sake get over it Shane!" Layla said exasperated as she continued her search for the fruit. "Yes I was wrong for not calling you but newsflash- we're on a hill, in the middle of a woods surrounded by fields were there is no signal so how exactly was I supposed to call you from my cell?"

Shane was about to argue when he looked at his cell and realised there was no signal. He'd never needed to use his cell before so it had slipped his mind that there would be no signal.

"Fine there may not be here but there was at camp!" Shane stated defiantly not wanting to give up the point without a fight but Layla just rolled her eyes at him.

"That might be true but seeing as _someone_." She said looking pointedly at Shane. "Took my phone for "safe keeping" and decided to leave it next to a vase which Caitlyn so kindly knocked over this morning my phone is now fucked. It's out drying on the porch if you wanna go check."

"Sorry about that." Caitlyn added sheepishly and Shane glared at her sending her scurrying back to hide behind Nate.

"Don't be I'm not. I've been meaning to get a new phone for ages." Layla said casually as she flicked her sweeping fringe out of her left eye and finally found an apple hiding behind the sugar bowl. She inspected it for any damage or signs of being used as a football (it wouldn't be the first time the guys had used fruit as sports equipment) and once she was satisfied there was nothing wrong with it; took a bite. She made sure she chewed it properly before turning to her brother who was now standing in the middle of the floor with a shocked expression on his face.

"Anything else you'd like to shout at me brother dearest?" She asked sweetly causing Shane to narrow his eyes at her in annoyance.

"Fine I get the whole phone thing but why weren't you at camp?"

"Simple. I got lost on the way. Ran into Uncle Brown. He gave me a quick tour of the camp before we hopped in his car-great car by the way much better than the Aston." Shane visibly winced as she talked about his most prized possession. "-and drove into the local town where there was a fun fair. We ate junk food, played some games and went on some rides before coming home to this! Happy now or it there anything else you'd like me to cover?"

Shane just shook his head dumbly.

"Great!" Layla said grinning widely and jumping off the worktop she had been sitting on. "It's been great talking to you but I've got some routines I have to come up with before camp starts next week so..."

She was halfway out of the room when they finally worked out what she said.

"What?!" They shouted confused.

She smiled and turned around to look at them.

"What I didn't tell you? I'm the new advanced dance instructor for Camp Rock this Summer."

By the time she'd finished telling them what had happened with Brown in the dance studio Mitchie, Caitlyn and even Nate were hugging her excitedly and jumping around (although he was only doing it as a way of making fun of the girls) while all anger Shane previously felt had disappeared; replaced with genuine happiness for his sister who was clearly excited. Jason on the other hand stood back watching with a fake smile on his face. Of course he was happy for her but after everything he'd found out today he couldn't help but be a little depressed and worried.

Eventually Layla made her excuses claiming that she had lots of routines to come up with in such little time and left the room. 30 seconds after she'd left Jason managed to slip out of the kitchen and follow her down the hallway. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into her room, closing the door behind them.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said clearly confused by the situation.

"Layla you can't be teaching an advanced dance lesson. You shouldn't be dancing at all!" He hissed. "Anything could happen you could collapse or..."

Seeing that he was getting worked up she reached out and grabbed his chin; forcing him to turn and look at her instead of working himself into a state of panic.

"I will be fine." She stated confidently. " As long as I don't overwork it, take regular breaks and stay on my medication nothing will go wrong."

"But..."

She cut him off with a look.

"Nothing will happen. I promise."

He calmed down and she let go of his face and stood back; flashing him her best smile.

"Now come on I have routines to come up with and you've just volunteered to help me."

"What! No way!" Jason exclaimed in shock as he tried to escape but Layla stood firmly between him and the door. "There's no way I'm doing it Layla get someone else!"

She sighed.

"Please Jason. I have 4 lessons a week and 2 of them have to be partner dancing. I checked the timetables you're the only one without classes while I'm teaching. Please Jason!"

He shook his head stubbornly and flashed him the puppy dog pout; instantly making him want to cave in but kept strong. Shane was the dancer among the 3 not him. Sure he wasn't that bad but he wasn't going to spend his free time teaching a load of kids to dance when he could be bird watching or playing on his guitar.

Layla intensified the pout and batted her eyelashes at him innocently. That was the final knockout blow. He was a gonner.

"Fine!" He gave in, feeling disgusted with himself for being so weak. "I'll help you with your stinking dance class okay!"

Layla brushed off the "stinking dance class" part as she launched herself at Jason.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" She shrieked excitedly. "You're the bestest friend ever!"

Jason chuckled a little before pulling Layla off him and placing her on the ground next to him.

"Okay I get it! I get it! Now let's get started on these routines we have 4 days to come up with an amazing partner dance routine that will go down in Camp Rock history!"


	11. Chapter 10

a/n: Hey this the next chapter of TOG hope you like it.

**I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters just the ones i have created and the plot. Thanks to everyone that has read and review this story. ILY! XOXO.**

* * *

Chapter 10.

4 days later and Camp Rock 2013 had officially begun. Well...sort of.

Today was the first day of Camp Rock and although there would be no lessons until tomorrow afternoon it was one of the busiest days of the term. This years' Opening Day had been changed slightly so that first year campers who'd never experienced anything like this before could be given the tour around camp by their group councilor and receive their timetables before the other more experienced campers arrived. The idea behind this had been the alarming amount of first time campers who had very easily got lost among the huge camp site causing unlimited amount of chaos. Not to mention the pain it caused Brown when he'd have to listen to endless phone calls from parents demanding to know why their child had called telling them they were hiding up in a tree; lost in the middle of the woods and about to become bear food.

So this year all councilors had been called in early to try to reduce rate of people getting lost which was significantly higher on this day than any others and councilors were positioned all over the camp to ensure no one went missing.

This hadn't mattered much to Layla who had to get up early any way to collect her timetable and join in with the Opening Day with the other new campers but it was a bit of a sore topic with the others especially... you guessed it...Shane.

* * *

"Stupid first time campers." He muttered as he leaned against a tree with his arms across his chest, pouting in annoyance.

Mitchie slapped him across the head and he quickly stopped pouting.

"Your sister is one of those first time campers so shut up and make sure no one goes walking off somewhere they shouldn't!"

Shane sighed and rolled his eyes as he stared at the Beach Jam stage where Dee was going through her usual chipper Opening Day announcements. Shane almost knew it off by heart (she had done the same routine for years) and as she went through all the different things that happened at Camp Rock from what jams they could participate in to what rules must be obeyed at all times, Shane imitated her, saying everything she said word for word making the others giggle at his immaturity and roll their eyes in amusement. Shane was far enough away for Dee not to hear so felt no need to be worried. What he didn't expect though was for Dee to stop talking half way through a sentence and the camp to go deathly quiet. Shane (who was so caught up in what he was doing) hadn't noticed at kept going in his absurdly high girly voice until Nate coughed loudly and pointed behind him before going bright red and rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Shane turned around and gulped as 150 pairs of eyes stared back at him, many were trying not to laugh as his face turned bright red. Up on stage Dee was watching him curiously with a glint in her eye that warned Shane that he should beware.

"Ah please give a hand to Shane Gray!" She shouted and everyone started clapping as Shane awkwardly waved back. In the crowd he could just about make out the murderous look Layla was flashing his way from her position next to the stage but shrugged it off. He could deal with her later now he just had to pray that he could get out of here without Dee embarrassing him too much.

"Unfortunately Mr Gray is only here to teach Vocal, Songwriting and Hip Hop lessons but I'm sure if you ask him nicely he'll give you a quick lesson on impersonation. I hear he does a great impersonation of Robert Di Niro."

The crowd started laughing and Dee went back to her announcements while Shane slowly blended into the background; unable to look anyone in the eye for a good 10 minutes.

* * *

Once she was finished the campers were eventually sent to the mess hall where they were placed into alphabetical order and given their cabin assignments, timetables and introduced to the group councilor who was in charge of their activities and cabin. This process was tiring for everyone but was necessary to ensure that the following weeks ran smoothly. It was especially tiring for Layla who unsurprisingly with a last name like Winters was right at the back of the line. Shane tried to use this as a way of convincing her to change it back to Gray but she refused and stood her ground until eventually Shane had to admit defeat By the time she'd gone through the whole process the gang had met all their campers and were all hanging around waiting to find out what lessons she had and more importantly who she had them with.

Luckily she had skipped the cabin and councilor assignment part of the whole ordeal. As she was a councilor as well as a camper it had been agreed that her being placed in camper cabin with a group councilor wouldn't have been the best idea as it would be awkward to share with some of her students and be advised by some of her fellow councilors. She had agreed to this immediately as she didn't want to leave her friends and brother behind anyway but the one thing that couldn't be avoided was the fact that as a camper she would have to be taught by the other councilors. Another thing that couldn't be avoided was that with only 25 instructors at Camp Rock and 11 of those places being taken up by people she knew (12 if she included herself, 14 if she included Brown and Dee) the chances were very high that she'd be taught by the others at some point.

"So lets have a look." Shane said eagerly and she past him her timetable. He glanced over it for a second and grinned before reading it out to the others.

* * *

"_**Monday**__:_

Block 1:**Vocal (group)**-_Shane Gray, Nate Carter, Jason Carter._

Block 2:** Free-Advanced dance lesson (parter)**-_LJ Winters, Jason Carter_

Block 3: **Lunch**

Block 4: **Guitar (beginners)**-_Jason Carter, Nate Carter_

Block 5: **Free**

_**Tuesday:**_

Block 1: **Piano/Keyboard (beginners)**-_Mitchie Torres Gray_

Block 2: **Music Production**-_Caitlyn Carter_

Block 3: **Lunch**

Block 4: **Vocal (solo)**-_Peggy Dupree_

Block 5: **Hip Hop (intermediate)**-_Shane Gray, Ella Sheng,_

_**Wednesday:**_

Block 1:**Free-Advanced Dance lesson**-_LJ Winters_

Block 2:**Songwriting (beginners)**-_Mitchie Torres Gray, Shane Gray_

Block 3**:Lunch**

Block 4:**Final Jam prep**-_Sander Loya, Ella Sheng, Shane Gray, Lola Scott_.

Block 5:**Stage performance**-_Tess Tyler_

_**Thursday:**_

Block 1:**Free-Advanced Dance lesson (partner)**-_LJ Winters, Jason Carter._

Block 2:**Guitar (beginners)**-_Jason Carter_

Block 3: **Lunch**

Block 4:**Vocal (group)-**_Tess Tyler, Ella Sheng, Peggy Dupree._

Block 5: **Free**

Block 6: **Private lesson (vocal)-**_Brown Cessario_

_**Friday:**_

Block 1: **Music Production**-_Caitlyn Carter_

Block 2: **Piano/Keyboard (beginners)**- _Mitchie Torres Gray_

Block 3:** Lunch**

Block 4:** Songwriting (beginners)-**_Shane Gray, Jason Carter, Nate Carter._

Block 5: **Final Jam Prep**-_Tess Tyler, Caitlyn Carter, Nate Carter, Mitchie Torres Gray._

Block 6: **Free-Advanced dance lesson**- _LJ Winters_."

* * *

"Hey no fair!" Barron exclaimed when Shane finally finished. "You have at least one lesson with everyone except me!"

"Aww!" Layla said as she leaned over and hugged him. She had quickly become friends with Barron, Lola, Ella, Peggy, Tess and Sander after being introduced to them and next to the guys, Mitchie and Caitlyn she felt the closest to Barron. They were both the youngest out of the group with Barron being only 18 months older than her and had instantly made a pact to stand up for each other when the others tried to used their seniority as a way of getting out of doing their fair share of the chores.

"What can I do to make you feel better?" She said finally releasing him from the impromptu hug.

He pretended to think about it for a moment before answering.

"Monster guitar hero session at lease three times a week?"

She laughed.

"Deal."

"Great now we've got over Barron's insecurity issues." Shane said and Barron glared at him. "How do you feel about you're timetable?"

Layla shrugged.

"To be honest I don't really mind. I mean I knew I would have to have lessons with some of you anyway."

"So you're okay with the timetable?" Layla nodded and Shane smiled. "That's great because I don't know about the others but I love it!"

They all cheered in agreement.

"Yeah I can't wait to finally be the one to boss Layla or should I say "_LJ_" " Layla rolled her eyes at this "around for once." Jason said teasingly and the others nodded along.

"Ha ha very funny guys." She said sarcastically; snatching the schedule off her brother and shoving it into her bag. "Now if you don't mind I have a camp tour to join so..."

"Don't get lost!" Sander joked and the others started laughing.

Layla didn't even dignify it with a verbal response instead she just turn around to face them then flipped them the middle finger before casually strolling off to join the rest of the group.

* * *

An couple of hours later the others were all back at Connect 3's cabin collapsed on whatever furniture they could find after completing their separate tours of the camp site with their cabin groups. They'd just finished swapping stories about what so and so had done in their group when they heard the front door slam shut. A couple of seconds later the living room door swung open and Layla shuffled into the room, falling onto the closest sofa she could find (which just happened to be next to Tess) and pressed a pillow to her face and screamed into it.

The others stared at each one another trying to decide who should ask her what was going on. Eventually they came to a unanimous decision.

"You do it." They mouthed to Tess.

"Why me?" She mouthed back, clearly not wanting to be the one to open this can of worms. Although she was nothing like the ice cold bitch she was when they all first met at Camp Rock she still wasn't the warmest person. Situations like this and Tess Tyler just didn't fit.

"You're closest." Mitchie mouthed back.

Tess was about to argue but decided that it wasn't worth it.

_Oh well worth a try!_

"You owe me." She mouthed to the others before turning to Layla and slowly taking the pillow off her face.

"Layla? What happened." Tess asked as softly as she could.

Layla just groaned and leaned further back into the sofa.

"That was the most boring thing I have ever done in my life!" She exclaimed. "I got stuck with this old guy who moved at like 2 miles an hour and talks through his nose and kept coughing for two fricking hours! It was so annoying! And he forgot his way around camp! Can you imagine that?! Someone who's supposed to show you around camp getting lost. I had to lead the group and I'd only ever been shown around the place once. Stop laughing!"

She yelled once she saw the others rolling around the floor with laughter.

"Oh my God I can't believe you got stuck with Woody the Wheezer!" Nate coughed out as he wiped the tears of laughter out of his eyes. "That guy doesn't even work here!"

Layla looked at him confused. "What do you mean he doesn't work here?!"

Shane who had managed to stop laughing briefly answered for Nate who had now started laughing again.

"Woody's some guy who just turned up one day and pitched his tent outside the camp. Uncle Brown tried to get rid of him but he wouldn't leave so he had no choice but to let him stay."

"But what's that got to do with him showing me around camp?" Layla asked still confused with the situation.

"Woody likes to "help out" every one in a while."

"What do you mean "help out"? What does he do?"

Shane shrugged. "Anything and everything. He does whatever he thinks is best for the camp obviously this time he thought he'd be helping out by showing people around camp."

"Except the furthest he's got before Brown hauled his ass out was the mess hall!" Mitchie added before they all burst into hysterics.

Layla looked at them in shock.

"So you're telling me that I was showed around camp by an old man with nasal problems who doesn't even know what he's doing let alone who he is?"

Ella nodded and Layla groaned. He mood worsening by the minute.

"Oh My God that is so wrong!" She exclaimed but the others kept on laughing and reminiscing on all the crazy things Woody had done. When the laughter would eventually die down another one would remember something and it would start all over again. For Layla who was still a little angry and hadn't been there when all this happened was beginning to get annoying!

"Oh My God do you remember that time Woody was convinced he was a water sprinkler and anytime anyone walked past him he'd fire a water hose straight at them. He hit Brown smack in the face one day. I swear I've never seen Brown so angry or so wet!"

Layla rolled her eyes as they all doubled over in laughter again.

They were still rolling around on the ground laughing when the phone rang and as she was the only one who wasn't currently laughing at her misfortune or Woody's past job descriptions she was the one who had to answer the phone.

"Hello?" She asked grumpily as she grabbed the cordless phone and headed into the kitchen; away from the insistent laughing.

"Ouch! Someone's not in a good mood! What happened?

Layla instantly recognised the voice at the end of the line as Brown's and relaxed a little before telling him the story about Woody. By the time she'd finished even Uncle Brown was chuckling!

"It's not funny Uncle Brown I was left with a weird old man for 2 hours!" She pouted.

Brown suddenly stopped laughing.

"You're right that's not cool."

"Thank you!" She exclaimed happy that finally someone other than her didn't find this situation hilarious. Even if it was just out of pity.

"Should I tell you what else isn't cool?"

"What?"

"My star councilor/camper/niece being late for Opening Jam! It started 30 minutes ago and you're still not here!"

Layla looked down at her watch and jumped as she realised he was right. It was now 5:30 and Opening Jam had well and truly started. She was late!

"Oh my gosh Uncle Brown I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine just make sure you get here and quick...Oh and make sure you bring the others. There's something I want to tell them."

"Will do see you in 15 minutes!" Layla shouted as she hung up and quickly threw the cordless phone down in it's cradle as she searched the room for her shoes. Not finding them in the kitchen or the hallway she made a mad dash for her jacket before rushing into the living room again.

The others had stopped laughing by now and were watching her with interest as she raced around the cabin with one bright blue ballet flat in one hand and her jacket in the other; trying desperately to get both of them on while not wasting any time. A feat impossible for anyone-even Layla. At the beginning everyone (with the exception of Connect 3) found this strange but over the last couple of days the group had got used to it. Layla's almost obsessive need to be on time often led to situations like this where she would be in a rush just to make sure she didn't waste any time.

"Erm... Layla? What's going on?" Lola called out but the girl just ignored her as she rushed around the room muttering under he breath and throwing sofa cushions around as she continued to look for her missing shoe. It was only when she found it tucked between the stereo and the bookcase that she finally took a breath and calmed down.

Slipping the shoe on she turned around and looked at the guys all sitting on the ground staring back at her and frowned.

"Guys what are you doing just sitting there?! We were supposed to be at Opening Jam 30 minutes ago get your butts into gear!"

She groaned frustrated before storming out of the room leaving a confused group of councilors behind. They quickly got the message though and scrambled to their feet; grabbing whatever they would need for the long night ahead before following her out of the room. All eager to find out why she was in such a hurry and why they (the councilors) had to go to an event held especially for the campers-no councilors allowed.

* * *

"Why do we have to go?" Shane whined as they all piled out of the house and slammed the door behind them. "Opening Jam always sucks!"

Lola (Queen of the Opening Jams) shot him a death glare and he quickly shut up.

"I don't know Uncle Brown said something about needing to talk to you. Now lets get a move on Opening Jam awaits!"

The others just ignored her after the "Brown has to tell you something" part, halting any intentions they had of reaching their cars and huddling together.

"Guys this is bad." Mitchie said seriously and the other's nodded in agreement.

"Brown only says he needs to talk to us when something bad has happened." Caitlyn added and yet again the others nodded in agreement.

"That only means one thing.." Tess said slowly and the girls shook their head in agreement before turning to the guys.

"What did you do?!" They yelled.

"What did we do? What did you do?!" The guys yelled back.

"Please!" Lola stated. "We all now that what ever goes wrong in this camp always has something to do with you 5!"

"Oh yeah what about the time when..."

* * *

As the others continued squabbling over who'd done what over the past 5 years they'd known each other ranging from an exploding toilet (the boys) to a massive food fight (the girls) Layla grew more and more impatient.

She tried getting their attention by calling out their names but they just ignored her and after almost 10 minutes of jumping around; acting like the fool she'd had enough. Enforcing the policy of drastic times call for drastic measures she used her limited pick pocketing skills to snatch Shane's car keys out of his back pocket. Once she got them she thanked God that her small stint as the artful dodger in her school production of Oliver had finally paid off and slowly tip toed away from the group of arguing celebrities.

"To the Batmobile! She shouted as she pulled a quick superhero pose before taking off in a run towards Shane's jet black Aston Martin DB9 that she'd affectionately nicknamed the batmobile.

She unlocked the car and quickly slid into the front seat of the car, marveling at just how beautiful it was. She had been lying when she said Brown's car was the best; this was clearly the best car she had ever seen!

Sticking the key in the ignition she turned the engine over and sped out of the driveway; kicking up gravel as she went.

* * *

Hearing the sound of a car turning over and pulling away at speed the gang suddenly stopped talking and turned towards the noise. Seeing that the car and Layla were both missing they all turned to Shane wide eyed. Shane on the other hand just stood staring at the spot where his sister used to be and the much larger space a couple of yards further away where his precious DB9 had been waiting.

"She didn't just..did she?" Mitchie whispered.

"No she couldn't have." Caitlyn whispered back. Both were watching to see what Shane would do.

After a couple of seconds the shock disappeared and Shane was able to think clearly. He quickly began patting himself down and upon not being able to find his keys swore loudly before screaming angrily.

"The bitch took my car!" He yelled angrily as he began kicking up the stones from the driveway where his sister had been minutes before hand.

Jason shook his head and put a hand on his shoulder sympathetically.

"Tough break dude. I know how much you love that car I mean how much did it cost you again?" Shane whimpered a little in pain as he thought of the extortionate price he has paid to get the car shipped back home after seeing it in a showroom in England while on tour last year. Mitchie had almost killed him when she found out but it had been worth it. He had taken care of it, teated it with respect, made sure nothing damaged it and now his 17 year old sister was driving it down winding country roads in an area she'd never been before.

Seeing the look of pain on his friends face Nate sighed and shot his brother a look before turning to Shane.

"Hey look on the bright side." He said cheerfully. "I'm sure Layla's a great driver. You're car's in good hands. Wait...She does have a driving license.. right?"

Shane gave a low painful groan before burying his face in his hands.

In his mind that was it.

His car was dead.


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N: Sorry about the wait college started again this week so I've been kinda busy. This chapter's not very long but I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

**Like usual I don't own Camp Rock or any other the characters except the ones I have created and the plot.**

**xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 11

"Layla Jayne Winters Gray!" Shane hissed as he made his way across the crowded mess room towards Layla.

"Oh shit!" Layla exclaimed as she quickly started running in the opposite direction weaving in and out of people in an attempt to throw Shane and the others off her trail.

When she'd taken the car it hadn't entered her mind that Shane would be angry. After all it wasn't like she was going to take it on a road trip across multiple states- she was only driving it 15 minutes away to Camp Rock that's all. And the fact that she'd had been banned from driving a couple of times (3 times if you included the 4 month ban she was currently serving) and totaled 2 cars had absolutely nothing to do with this.

It was only when she pulled up outside the camp and saw the damage she had caused that she realised that she might be in a little bit of trouble when Shane finally caught up with her-Okay that was the understatement of the century! She would be in a lot of trouble!

Although she tried her best to create distance between her and her irate brother Layla was finding that his anger and sheer determination was making up for her impressive dodging skills.

"Come back here Layla I wanna talk to you!" He yelled as they chased each other around one of the large lunch tables in the middle of the mess hall.

"Na uh!" She shook her head stubbornly. "I don't feel like dying today maybe another time!"

With that she stopped skirting around the table and made a mad dash for the other side of the room. It took a while for Shane to realise what was going on but he quickly chased after her. The others stood on the sidelines, amused and smirking at the interaction between the two while the rest of the campers carried on oblivious to what was going on around them.

"Don't run away from me!" He yelled angrily. "I know what you did!"

"I'm sorry okay!" She yelled back as she caught Shane off guard and did a u turn passing by him and heading towards the performance area.

"I'm sorry I stole your car and scratched the paint work by spinning on the gravel. And I'm sorry for hitting that rock-okay it was more a boulder than a rock-and denting your front bumper. It was all an accident I swear. Well apart from the stealing your car bit but..."

She stopped her ranting when she realised Shane had stopped chasing her and was standing ram rod straight staring at her the same way a bull did when a red rag was waved in it's face.

"You damaged my car." He said slowly each word getting angrier and angrier as he tried to stop himself from running at her at speed and knocking her to the ground.

Layla's eyes went wide and her face paled.

"I-I swear Shane I didn't mean it!" She stuttered hoping that that would just her off the hook but he kept on making his way towards her. Resorting to desperate measures in an attempt to try and lessen her punishment and the shouting that would come with it she did something she hadn't done in years.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing herself and praying it would work. If this didn't nothing would.

"I'm sorry Shay. You're my big brother and I love you lots and lots like jelly tots." She yelled out at the top of her voice. Those who had heard it had turned and looked at her strangely before returning their attention to the performer currently on stage. The gang who were all listening intently had begun smirking and laughing not only at the nickname she had given him but her blatant attempt at getting away with stealing his car without punishment. Slowly she opened one eye and saw that it had done nothing to halt his process.

She opened the other eye and shrugged.

"Worth a try." She said before bolting clear across the performance area just as the last act was finishing.

* * *

Totally oblivious to what was going on between his niece and nephew Brown continued with acting as compare for the Opening Jam.

"Please give a big hand to Callie James and her version of "That's not my name" by the Ting Tings."

The crowd clapped enthusiastically and Callie bowed before waving to the crowd and jumping of the makeshift stage.

"Up next we have..."

Just then Layla came rushing into the performance area and straight into his line of sight. He grinned.

" Our very own Advanced Dance instructor and first time camper LJ Winters!"

Layla heard Brown shout out her name and looked at him like a rabbit trapped in headlights. There was no way that she would go up there! Not for love nor money but she had no other choice. Shane was quickly approaching with a face like thunder ,ready to start shouting at her and she had managed to work her way into a corner. With no way out her only hope was to go up on stage and use the time up there to come up with some sort of plan to get herself out of this mess.

She fixed a smile and accepted Brown's hand up onto the stage. Putting all her acting skills to use and pushing the nervousness to the back of her mind she turned to the crowd and smiled at them sweetly.

"Hey I'm LJ and as Brown here so kindly mentioned already this is my first year as both an instructor and a camper so bare with me!" This got a little laugh from some strange people at the back of the room but mainly it was deathly quiet. They were all waiting to see what she could do.

"Anyway....I'm going to sing a song I wrote a little while back. I hope you like it."

She took a deep breath before starting to sing:

**Show me where I belong tonight. **

**Give me a reason to stay. **

**No matter if I go left or right. **

**I always come back to love your love **

She started off nervously but once she warmed up she really got into the song; totally forgetting that everyone else was there and going back to the memory of when she'd first written this song. It had been when she and Kyle had first got together and although they had had their problems later she could honestly say even now that the beginning of their relationship had been the happiest time of her life so far. Whenever she sang this song she couldn't help but feel the way she felt back then. That was why she loved it so much.

**I've been up and down. **

**Been going round and round. **

**I've been all over town. **

**But I'll never find somebody for sure **

**Show me love tonight. **

**I'm going to left to right. **

**No matter where I go. **

**Always find your love **

**I've been high and low. **

**I don't know where to go. **

**Cause I love you so. **

**And I'll never ever find someone like you for sure **

By now she had jumped off the stage and with the help of some fellow campers who had obviously picked up on where this song was going produced a small dance routine consisting of some pretty complex moves. As they finished dancing she returned to the stage and made a mental note to check for those campers in her lessons 'cause boy could those guys dance!

**Show me where I belong tonight. **

**Should I go left or right. **

**I always come back to your loving, baby. **

**Show me I where I belong tonight. **

**Should I go left or right. **

**I always come back to your love **

By the time she'd finished she was struggling to catch her breath but was filled with a sense of accomplishment as the crowd stared cheering loudly. A couple of boys even wolf whistled and called out that they thought she was hot but they quickly stopped after they saw the murderous looks on Shane,Nate, Jason, Barron and Sander's face.

Layla took a bow and waved at the crowd before backing off the stage and running straight into...

"Shane!" She gasped quickly backing away from him. "I have a good reason for everything!"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Fine okay I don't!" She admitted. "But if you give me some time I'm sure I can come up with something."

Shane sighed.

"I didn't think you'd have an excuse." He saw Layla perk up a little and shot her a look. "Don't think you've got away with this just because I'm not shouting at you-You're still in trouble I'm just not going to start shouting now."

"Is it because I love you lots and lots like jelly tots?" She asked with fake innocence but Shane just shot her another look.

"Layla when are you going to learn that that never works. It didn't when you were younger and it definitely won't now. For now I'm going to let you savour your little performance up there -which was amazing by the way!-Then I will come up with a suitable punishment for the pain you put me and my car through."

"But Shay!" She whined trying her best to get out of any possible punishment especially one that he'd had time to think about. Anything was better than facing one of his legendary punishments which would always cause embarrassment and occasionally pain to whom ever he inflicted them upon.

Seeing that he wasn't going to give up she resigned herself to her fate.

"Is it just one punishment for you and the car or one for each?" She asked hoping that it was the first and not the second.

"I'm thinking about it." He muttered before turning back to her. "But don't worry about that for now there's a group of over eager councilors over there waiting to congratulate you."

Layla looked over her shoulder and saw all their friends waving excitedly and calling her over.

She was making her way towards them when Shane called out to her.

"Lay?"

She turned around.

"You were amazing up there today."

"Thanks Shane." She said softly and smiled the most honest smile she had given him in over 7 years before turning back to her friends.

Unable to stop himself Shane smiled back. Although he was angry with her he couldn't help but feel that they were starting to get back on track.


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi it's me again and here's the 12th chapter of The Other Gray. I hope you like it. Thanks for everyone who had read and reviewed this story.**

**BTW I forgot to add the details about the song Layla sang at Opening Jam in the last chapter. It was Samantha Mumba Always come back to your love. I don't own it, Camp Rock or the characters just the character singing it, a few other random characters and the plot....oh and a dog (yet :P) so I don't think that counts! **

**lol ttyl Gem xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 12.

3 hours later and Opening Jam had officially ended leaving a trail of destruction in it's wake. The campers who had now been fed, watered and entertained had gone back to their respective cabins without a thought towards the mess they'd left behind . Back in the once jam packed mess hall the only things left was tonnes of rubbish, left over food and a bunch of fed up councilors who had been dragged in to help clean up. Not that they wanted to or had offered. If any of them had a choice they would leave it all to someone else to clean up but as Brown had insisted that he needed to tell them something they had no choice. Brown had refused to tell anyone anything until he was walking on floor and not a sea of trash so they were forced to clean up just so they could find out what was going on and leave.

Layla had tried to sneak out with the other campers when she thought that no one was looking but just before she was out the door she felt someone grab her arm and yank her back into the room. It was Shane who kindly but firmly informed her that as a part time councilor she had to help out and wait for the announcement like everyone else before he handed her a black rubbish bag and pushed her in the direction of the performance area. She had tried to protest saying that the bright white skinny jeans and Chinese silk blue halter top she was wearing would get ruined not to mention her shoes but Shane managed to convince her that if she agreed her punishment would be reduced once they got back to the cabin. She sighed and reluctantly put on the pair of plastic gloves Shane gave her and began picking up other peoples trash; shuddering at the thought that other people could leave this mess behind without care.

* * *

They were all still picking up trash and muttering about how they had much better things to be doing than tidying up when Brown suddenly reappeared.

He let off a deafening wolf whistle which quickly caused all the councilors to drop their trash bags and cover their ears in an attempt to protect their hearing from further assault.

"Ah glad to see I got your attention." He stated happily once they'd finally taken their hands away and glared at him. "I guess you all want to know why I called you here?"

They nodded.

"Well firstly I needed someone to clean up and I was too mean to pay out for cleaners so thanks you just saved me $200."

They groaned and threw down their different cleaning equipments as they realised this was his plan all along. He had no intention of telling them before he got them to clean the entire hall top to bottom!

"Secondly I'm announcing a new jam."

They groaned again.

"Come on Brown!" One of the other councilors called out from the back of the room. Layla didn't know him personally but knew from the others that he was one of the other guitar instructors and always liked to cause trouble when ever he could. This was obviously one of these times where he felt the need to stir up trouble.

"We already have a load of jams to prepare for adding another one is just too much!"

This got the desired effect as other councilors began nodding along and adding their own view on it including the gang. Pretty soon everyone was arguing the pros and cons of having another jam. Well almost everyone.

Layla who'd never been a camper let alone a councilor before had no idea what these jams where and why the caused so much aggravation for the councilors of Camp Rock.

_Surely a chance to show off your talent was a good thing right?_

Up on the stage she could see that Brown was struggling to talk over the various voices all yelling and explaining their reason behind why another jam shouldn't be added. Eventually he lost his patience and did something very uncool. He let off another ear piercing whistle.

"Finally!" He yelled once they all stopped squabbling.

"If you'd let me finish I'd tell you that this is a jam for the councilors only. So you don't have to spend weeks teaching the campers what they need to know so they don't fall flat on their faces and embarrass everyone."

There was a collective sigh around the room and Layla finally realised why they'd all been so critical of Brown adding a new jam. Although all jams were voluntary who ever decided to enter them would be representing their various instructors as well as themselves meaning that whenever councilors knew there was a jam scheduled their work load would double. She shuddered at the thought. As far as she knew there was another 3 jams (Camp Fire, Pajama and Midnight)which only campers could participate in before Final Jam at the end of the five weeks. No wonder they hadn't wanted Brown to add another jam. The extra work would just be too much for them to handle!

"But I thought that all the councilors performed at Beach Jam." Layla whispered to Mitchie. Layla was sure that she had heard some of the others saying that there was a Beach Jam set up for the councilors of Camp Rock but Mitchie shook her head.

"No that was set up properly the first time Connect 3 returned to Camp Rock. Before it was sort of if the weather was good and anyone could be bothered to turn up. Now Beach Jam's only used for us and bands which agree to come and play at Camp Rock as a favour to either the guys or Brown."

Layla nodded in understanding and returned her attention to the stage where Uncle Brown was explaining just what this jam would entail.

"The jam is going to be next Wednesday that's only 7 days away so you've got 5 days to choose what song you want to do and Camp Rock's first ever Musical Jam will be two days later."

Various eyebrows around the room rose at this.

"Did you just say musicals?" Lola called out before shuddering. Although she loved music and dancing she hated musicals. There was something about the two of them being together that made her uncomfortable and no matter how much the others had tried to convince her differently she still felt the same. She wasn't the only one as she knew for a fact Barron and Sander felt the same way and swore she saw at least a third of the other councilors shudder at the thought of performing songs from musicals.

Brown sighed. He knew he might get this type of reaction especially from Lola but had stuck with the idea anyway.

"Yes I know a lot of you don't like the idea of performing stuff from musicals but it's a great way to show the campers just what they're instructors can do. I'm not asking you all to perform but you can at least think about it?"

Finally giving up those who were against it sighed and nodded in agreement once they realised that there was no way of getting out of it.

"Great!" He said happily clapping his hands together and grinning. "Now that's out of the way and this place is clean I guess you can go. Remember classes start at 9:30 and get thinking about those routines!"

They didn't bother saying anything, just waved weakly at him before turning on their heel and returning to their cabins glad to get the day over and done with.

It was only 8pm but after being up since 7 preparing for the arrival of the campers and the knowledge that camp would be starting tomorrow many of the councilors were finding it hard to stay awake.

Luckily for them their cabins were on the camp campus so they didn't have to walk so far. This had a down side though as being so close to the campers meant that if they had any problems during the night it was the councilors on site who had to sort them out. Not to mention set up a schedule where two campers were patrolling the site at all times. This had created a kind of hostility between the on site councilors and the gang who lived on a separate site but with the gang being the majority and so close with Brown they hadn't acted on this although Layla could tell in the short time she'd been around them that they resented the gang being there.

Right now Layla didn't care she just wanted to get back to the cabin and start working on her entry for the Musical Jam but at the moment that was proving a little difficult.

* * *

The cars that the others had brought with them to camp were all amazing and no doubt cost a lot of money but where totally impractical for a place like Camp Rock. As Layla stared at the baby blue Porsche 911 (Tess'), silver Chrysler Crossfire (Mitchie's) and British Racing Green Aston Martin Vanquish (Nate's) parked hazardously outside the mess hall she wondered how they'd even got managed to get here. With 11 people, 3 cars and limited space she couldn't work out how they had done it. The original idea had been that once they got to camp Shane would take his DB9 back along with some of the others and Layla.

This idea was scrapped though when they'd decided that the best way to keep everyone happy after the announcement of the Musical Jam (which with the exception of Lola, Barron and Sander everyone was looking forward to) and Layla's amazing first performance was to avoid the car subject all together. This didn't go down to well with Shane who was convinced that if the car stayed there it would be keyed by the other councilors and set alight within seconds of them pulling out of the camp. Layla wasn't the only one that had picked up on the hostility between the two groups and with his car at stake Shane got a little antsy.

It took them a full 10 minutes to finally convince him that nothing else would happen to his precious DB9 and they shoved him into the nearest car; slamming the door shut before he could change his mind so they could focus on the real problem.

How they were all going to get back to the cabins?

Eventually after another 20 minutes arguing over what was the right way to go about it they finally came up with a solution and began piling into the different cars.

Tess, Barron and Lola climbed into Tess' 911 and gave a quick wave before speeding out of the camp car park. They were quickly followed by Nate and Ella who had to put up with a very moody Shane as they made the 15 minute journey back to the cabins in the Vanquish. That left the others to try and squeeze into Mitchie's Crossfire **(a/n: I can't remember if any of these cars have back seats but if they don't just imagine that the do! Lol I like them cos they're pretty and go fast but I don't exactly know a lot about them!)**. Jason and Sander quickly jumped in the back and tried to create as much room for themselves as they could while Caitlyn and Mitchie climbed into the front of the car. It was only as they pulled away that they realised they'd left something behind. Or more precisely someone.

Layla!

* * *

Screeching to an abrupt halt they quickly reversed to see a very pissed Layla standing in the middle of the car park, her hands on her hips staring them down.

"I can't believe you forgot me!" She hissed once she got close enough to them. Mitchie smiled at her sheepishly before saying sorry.

Layla sighed.

"It's okay it wouldn't be the first time." She said shooting daggers at Jason who put his hands up in defense.

"Hey that happened one time!" He said defensively as the others turned to look at him.

"I was 6 and you left me behind at the mall cos you were too busy following Tanya Logan's boobs around town to realise you'd left me behind!"

The other gasped and turned to him. Not Jason! They expected Shane to do something like that when he was younger as it was well known that before Mitchie he was always seducing and chasing after countless women but not Jason. The only thing that Jason ever chased after was a woodpecker and that was only because he needed a picture of it for his birdwatching scrapbook! The idea that he'd left Layla behind to chase after a girl seemed so unlike him they couldn't believe it.

"You didn't!" Mitchie gasped, shocked at his behaviour only to see that Jason was away in some sort of dream world. No doubt reminiscing about Tanya Logan's chest. He quickly snapped out of it though when Layla yanked open the car door and threw her bag at him ; hitting him square in the face before throwing herself in afterwards; landing on top of Jason and Sander in a mess of limbs.

"Come on Layla! That was almost 12 years ago and you weren't there that long!" Jason huffed as he tried to pushed Layla off him or at least move her so that her elbow wasn't digging him right in the ribs.

She looked at him incredulously before slamming the door shut and moving around so she was now sitting on his lap with her legs stretched out across Sander's. None of them minded as they were all so close but they recieved some strange looks as they sped out of Camp Rock.

"Not that long!" She shrieked. "Me and Nate were left there for 4 hours before you finally realised!"

"You left Nate behind as well!" Caitlyn yelled. It was bad enough for him to leave Layla alone but to leave his 9 year old brother on his own solely in charge of a 6 year old girl was just irresponsible!

Jason nodded sheepishly and tried to avoid Caitlyn's glare as she stared him down from the front of Mitchie's car.

"I can't believe you left your brother and friend behind in the mall to go and chase some skirt!"

"Hey it wasn't the skirt I was looking at! And once I got her number I went back for them it was no big deal."

"Boy I'm gonna come back there and beat your ass!" Caitlyn yelled as she tried to jump into the back and wrestle him but Mitchie grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back into her seat before she could do anything.

"What are you doing Mitchie? I'm gonna pummel that guys ass for being such a prat!"

"Not it my car you ain't!" Mitchie yelled before swerving to avoid hitting an oncoming car. She had been so busy paying attention to the sgruement going on in the car that she'd acidentally swerved into another lane. After getting a mouthful from the on coming driver and relpying with the apropriate hand gestures she returned her attention to the situation at hand determined to sort it out before she crashed her car into a tree. "Do you have any idea how much it costs to get blood out of the upholstery? Plus like he said it was 11 years ago. He was a stupid irresponsible 16 year old boy who only paid attention to his hormones not his brain. You all need to calm down and take a breath cos I swear to God if you don't I will throw your sorry asses out of this car!"

Caitlyn huffed and crossed her arms across her chest but finally gave in; seeing sense. Mitchie was right. It was 11 years ago and things had changed since then. Jason rarely dated let alone chased women around town for their numbers and Nate and Layla were both old enough to look after themselves it just made her annoyed that he had been so irresponsible to leave them alone. It was so out of character for him and added to the recent revelations about Jason Caitlyn was wondering just how much she really knew about her brother in law and whether the person she had grown to love like a brother was in fact a totally different person.

* * *

She was still thinking about it when Mitchie pulled into the driveway of their cabin. As everyone climbed out she still sat there staring into space and thinking before she snapped out of it when she felt someone shaking her shoulder.

"What!" She snapped, turning around to see Nate sitting in the driving seat with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you okay." He asked softly. "I've been knocking on the window for the last couple of minutes. Everyone's back in the cabin already. They're worried about you."

She sighed and shook her head slightly.

"I'm fine." She said quietly. "I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"About Jason." She confessed. "Ever since that incident the day after Layla came back he seems like a totally different person. I mean that whole thing in the mall when you were 9? I never thought he'd do something like that! Yeah sure he can be a bit ditzy at times but to leave two children behind in a mall? What's he gonna be like if we ever have kids?!"

"Woah woah! Slow down there!" Nate said shocked by this latest outburst. When he asked her if she was okay he just expected her to brush him off. He wasn't ready for her to start confessing her deepest fears about his brother and having children. "First of all it was almost 12 years ago and he was only 16. We've all done a bit of growing up since then. It's not like he's the only one who's done it I mean I seem to remember a time when you left your little sister behind at a concert 3 states away."

Caitlyn blushed a little at the memory and began to feel bad about blaming Jason. It was true that when Caitlyn's little sister Jessica had dragged her to a concert a couple of years ago she had stepped out to talk to Nate and accidentally left her behind on her own. It had only been for half an hour but it had been traumatising for both of them. Jess was only 12 at the time and had been left on her own with a group of complete strangers in a state she'd never been to before. Although Caitlyn quickly realised her mistake and came back for her the damage had already been done and the second they got through the front door she'd immediately ratted on Caitlyn to their mother.

It was one of the most embarrassing moments of her life. She was 18 years old, quickly becoming one of the top music producers in the business and engaged to 1/3 of the hottest group in the world yet here she was standing in her parent's front room being told off by her mother for being so irresponsible.

Looking back on it now Caitlyn felt bad about the way she had reacted towards Jason. She was older and wiser than him when he'd accidentally left Nate and Layla behind and although it didn't make it right she could see how he had managed to do it.

"I guess I did blow it out of proportion a little." She muttered not really wanting to admit she was wrong. "I'll apologise to him when we go in."

"Why would you have to apologise to him?" Nate asked confused.

"I kinda tried to beat him up when he told me that he left you behind as well as Layla." She muttered, ashamed at her previous reaction.

"Caitlyn what did you do that for?!"

"I'm sorry okay it's just the idea of him leaving you behind. It made me so angry!"

"But why it was over 11 years ago. It hasn't affected me in anyway so why would you be so annoyed by it?" He asked worried. Being annoyed by something like that was kind of understandable in a way but to try and beat someone up for something that happened years ago? That was a little worrying.

"Because it's not what he does okay!" She shouted angrily before taking a deep breath and lowering her voice. "Jason's been like my big brother ever since I met him when we were just 13. I thought I knew him and now...I don't know! The last couple of days he's acted so strange and I can't help but think..."

"That he's someone different." Nate added softly and Caitlyn shook her head in agreement.

He sighed and grabbed her hand stroking it softly.

"I felt exactly the same way when it first happened. We had been so close growing up and then after our parents died he changed. I found it harder to connect to him but then I realised that at the end of the day he's still my brother and I love him no matter how much he annoys me and gets me in trouble."

Nate chuckled a little at this and Caitlyn smiled slightly.

"You just have to remember that he's the same person."

"But how do I do that?" She asked quietly and Nate shrugged.

" I dunno. It depends. The way I see it we are different to different people."

Caitlyn scrunched her nose up in confusion.

"I don't get what you mean."

"Okay I'll give you and example." He thought for a minute before grinning. "When you think of Mitchie what are your first thoughts?"

"My best friend, can talk to her about anything makes a wicked ham and cheese omelette." Caitlyn reeled off almost automatically before blushing. "I mean she's so much more than that but that the first thing that comes to mind."

"Exactly that's your view of Mitchie. You know there's so much more to her but it is those three things that you love the most. Yet when she'd with me I think of her as the one I can play video games with and joke around with when the guys are being annoying. Next to you she'd my best girl friend. The things that make us such good friends are totally different from yours yet we both can't imagine life without her you get what I'm saying now?"

"Sort of. We behave differently around different people depending on what interests we have in common."

Nate smiled warmly. "Exactly. You've got it."

"But how does that help me with Jason?"

Nate sighed again. He thought she had got it already but it looked like he'd have to spell it out for her. Sometimes Caitlyn was more like Jason than she thought.

"The thing that me and Jason had most in common was our love of music, grilled cheese sandwiches and being around those that we love. That's how I managed to reconnect with him and although we still have times when we don't see eye to eye I think we're closer now than we were before. What do you and Jason have in common?"

She bit her lip for a second, thinking of all the different things before answering.

"We both like the production side of music, sports and watching movies. Oh and baking!"

Nate grinned supportively.

"There you go! Try and focus on those and you'll be fine. You just have to have a little faith."

Caitlyn grinned back before leaning over and hugging him.

"Thanks Nate you always know what to say to make me feel better."

Nate smiled and hugged her a little tighter before placing a kiss on the top of her head and pulling away.

"No problem. Now what's this you were saying about kids?"

Caitlyn blushed a little and started looking down at the ground sheepishly.

"Well I just thought it would be a good thing if maybe we sort off..." She trailed off a little and Nate grinned. He stuck two fingers under her chin and softly lifted her tipped her head up so that she was looking at him.

"I think it's a good idea too..." He said softly and Caitlyn grinned before launching forward and hugging him.

"Okay Okay I get it you're happy but before you get too carried away I need to finish my sentence."

Caitlyn leaned back at him and looked at him sceptically.

"I think it's a good idea too but I wanna wait a couple of years. There's supposed to be a new tour and album in the pipelines and it just wouldn't be fair to have a kid until we knew that we wouldn't be busy all the time. You're not mad at me are you?"

Caitlyn stared at him for a couple of seconds before grinning and leaning forward to kiss him.

"I am so glad you said that." She said once she finally pulled away. "When I said I wanted kids I didn't mean straight away. I was gonna tell you after I hugged you but you beat me too it."

Nate looked at her cautiously.

"So you're not angry with me?"

She rolled her eyes and swatted him around the back of the head before laughing and kissing him on the cheek.

"Of course I'm not angry with you I feel the exact same way." She said as she opened the passenger door and jumped out indicating for him to follow her. Nate got out and locked up the car before Caitlyn kissed him on the cheek again and grabbed his hand dragging him towards the cabin.

"Now come on we've gotta get in there before they pick all the good routines!"

"What we're going to do something together?"

She turned around and grinned at him.

"Of course baby. You and me together. Til death do us part remember?."

Nate grinned back.

"Til death do us part."


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. Hope you like this chapter and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I've created and the plot! xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 13

"No! No way!" Nate shouted shaking his head vigorously.

He turned to see Shane do the same thing with Mitchie and became even more determined to stand his ground.

Sitting on the floor opposite them was Mitchie and Caitlyn who were looking at them with pleading faces, their eyes full of innocence. Every once in a while they would pout at them sadly, their bottom lip quivering slightly as they tried to hold back big,fat, fake crocodile tears.

It was all designed to get what they wanted with minimal effort and in short it was the perfect look to try and get Nate and Shane to do whatever they wanted them to. Both Nate and Shane hated seeing them upset so this was the perfect and most easiest way for them to get what they wanted. 99% of the time it worked but not this time. Nate was determined not to give in. He was always the first to cave but this time there was no way either of them was going to give in. They weren't going to get away with it this time!

"I will not do "_Without Love_" from Hairspray. I refuse!" He said defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest in protest.

"But why?" Caitlyn whined.

"Because it's stupid, sappy and extremely corny that's why!" Shane added and Nate nodded in agreement.

"It's is not stupid and sappy!" Mitchie snapped before getting a dreamy look on her face. "It's sweet and romantic and..."

She was cut off by Shane and Nate pretending to be sick.

Mitchie and Caitlyn looked at each other for a second before reaching over and smacking each guy around the head.

"Ouch what was that for?!" Shane and Nate said together, rubbing their heads in an attempt to relieve the pain.

"For being so stupid."

Behind them the others who'd been sitting around watching the interaction between the four started laughing. The laugher only increased when Shane and Nate started muttering obscene words under their breaths directed at Mitchie and Caitlyn. They quickly shut up though when Nate and Shane turned around and shot them a death glare.

"Come on guys if you do this for us we promise we'll do something for you." Caitlyn pleaded.

"Like what?" Shane asked curiously.

This was new. They never offered to do something for them and if they did it would always end with Shane or Nate ending up in some sort of trouble.

The two girls bit their bottom lips and thought about it for a minute before grinning slyly and crawling across the floor to their respective husbands. Once they were close enough they lent over and whispered something in their ears.

Shane and Nate's slowly but surely started blushing and as their wives pulled away gulped before nodding their heads in agreement.

Both girls squealed and threw themselves at their dazed husbands repeatedly thanking them before reeling off about all the different things they had to do before Musical Jam. All the while Shane and Nate were sitting there oblivious to everything; stuck in their own little dream worlds.

* * *

Layla watched her brother and best friend for a minute before shuddering.

"I _sooo_ don't want to know what that was about." She said, disgusted as she turned around to face the others. They all had the same sickly look on their faces except for Jason who looked confused.

"What? Why what happened?" He asked dumbly.

Tess looked up from the magazine she was currently flicking through and sighed. She rolled her eyes before leaning over and whispering something in his ear. A couple of seconds later his eyes went wide and he looked like he was about to puke.

"Eww that's so disgusting!" He screamed. "Why did you tell me that?"

"Well you asked!" She said innocently before returning to the article she was reading.

"Great." He said sarcastically. "Just what I need! Mental images of my brother and his wife having...."

"No!" They screamed stopping him in his tracks. No one wanted to hear the end of that sentence especially Layla who was already trying to ignore the fact that Shane and Mitchie were currently making out on the other side of the room. That was hard enough the last thing she need was to think about them doing _that_!

"Sorry." Jason mumbled. "It's just the thought of them...."

"Moving on." Layla said loudly and pointedly, desperate to change the subject before she was scarred for life. "What's everyone else gonna do for Musical Jam?"

"Well you can count me, Lola and Barron out that's for sure." Sander said with a shudder. "I can't think of anything worse then performing stuff from musicals."

Lola and Barron nodded along in agreement.

"In fact all this talk of musicals is giving me the creeps so I'm gonna go." Lola said standing up and straightening out her clothes before turning to Barron and Sander. "You guys coming?"

Before the words were even out of her mouth they had raced past her, straight out of the room and out through the front door.

Lola rolled her eyes a little before chuckling along with the others.

"See you later guys!" She waved back at them before running off after Barron and Sander.

* * *

"So now we've sorted out that they're not taking part what about the rest of us?" Layla asked.

"Oh that's easy!" Tess said simply, sitting up straight in her seat, grinning smugly. "I'm going to do Fabulous from HSM2 and Peggy and Ella are going to be my back up singers."

This caught the attention of everybody including Mitchie and Shane who stopped making out to turn and look at Ella and Peggy in shock.

"Guys! I thought you got over this whole being Tess' bitches thing?" Mitchie sighed turning to her friends and shooting them a worried look. She wasn't the only one. The whole gang with the exception of Layla who yet again didn't know what was going on were worried.

It had taken them ages to convince Ella and Peggy that Tess wasn't the boss of them. Although they had stood up to Tess at the Final Jam 5 years ago for years afterwards they would still do whatever Tess told them to do at the drop of a hat. Sure Tess had become nicer since she realised she couldn't push people around so easily and get away with it there was still moments when Peggy and Ella would revert to their less confident selves and that was worrying for everyone.

Peggy sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Guys relax. Me and Ella chose to do background singing for Tess. In fact we asked her."

Their mouths dropped open at this and Tess continued to smile smugly. She could still be a stuck up bitch when she wanted to be and this was definitely one of those moments. They had all thought it was her idea when in fact it had been Peggy and Ella had come up with it.

"Wow!" Caitlyn said clearly shocked by the situation they had now found themselves in. "That's good I suppose."

"Ahem!" Tess coughed from behind her and they all turned around to face her.

"Sorry Tess." They all said monotonously before shuddering. Although they were all great friends now the idea of apologising to Tess slightly disturbing.

Tess rolled her eyes at the insincerity of the apology but accepted it anyway knowing it was the best she was going to get.

"Well now that's all sorted." Tess said jumping up out of her seat and heading for the DVD collection. "Let's watch a movie!"

She began excitedly rummaging through the extensive DVD collection and had picked out her favourite before the others had even registered what she was talking about.

"Hang on wait a minute!" Shane shouted causing Tess to come to a halt.

"Jason and Layla haven't told us what they're doing yet."

"Oh yeah that's true. Sorry guys!" Tess apologised, dropping the DVD and returning to her spot on the sofa next to Jason. "So what are you going to do?"

Jason shrugged. "I'm not that bothered."

The girls glared at him and he suddenly changed his mind.

"You know what I am bothered. I will do it!." He said confidently before getting up and running to Layla with a pleading look on his face. " Layla do something with me please!"

She smiled and nodded in agreement knowing that although Jason loved being up on the stage he hated being the only one in the spotlight.

"Okay. But it's got to be something we both like alright?"

They knew this would narrow the search down a lot as their was little apart from birds and food that the two both saw eye to eye on but Jason agreed anyway.

"Thanks Layla." He said leaning over and hugging her tightly.

"No problem."

The two pulled away and smiled at each other then began laughing at the stupid grins on each other's faces which of course caused them to grin even more. They were still laughing and grinning when Mitchie suddenly gasped and got up from her spot on the floor racing towards the huge music collection at the back of the room.

"Oh my God I have the perfect song for you!" She said searching through the numerous Cd's, records and cassette tapes that had been collected over the years before finding what she wanted and placing it in the huge music system Brown had set up throughout the whole cabin. She pressed play and a familiar tune began playing through the speakers.

Everyone instantly recognised the song and knew right away that Mitchie had made the right choice as this was one of the few musicals both Layla and Jason liked.

Layla grinned to herself before getting up and dragging Jason up as well. Leading them towards the middle of the room she grabbed two microphones and switched them on before handing one to Jason. He reached out for it and their hand touched briefly. A shock ran through both of them and they were left momentarily speechless at what they had just felt; neither one of them wanting to admit what it might mean. They soon snapped out of it when they realised it was Jason's cue.

(a/n: **Bold **is Jason, _Italic _is Layla, _**bold italic **_is both. The song is Lay all your love on me by Abba from the movie/musical Mamma Mia.)

**I wasn't jealous before we met**

**Now every man that I see is a potential threat**

**And I'm possessive, it isn't nice**

**You've heard me saying that smoking was my only vice**

**But now it isn't true**

**Now everything is new**

**And all I've learned has overturned**

**I beg of you......**

_Don't go wasting your emotion_

_Lay all your love on me_

_It was like shooting a sitting duck_

_A little smalltalk, a smile and baby I was stuck_

_I still don't know what you've done with me_

_A grown-up woman should never fall so easily_

_I feel a kind of fear_

_When I don't have you near_

_Unsatisfied, I skip my pride_

_I beg you dear......_

**Don't go wasting your emotion**

**Lay all your love on me**

**Don't go sharing your devotion**

**Lay all your love on me**

_I've had a few little love affairs_

_They didn't last very long and they've been pretty scarce_

**I used to think that was sensible**

**It makes the truth even more incomprehensible**

_**'cause everything is new**_

_**And everything is you**_

_**And all I've learned has overturned**_

_**What can I do......**_

All the time they were singing they were staring into each other's eyes not once tearing their gaze away from each other for fear that the others would see the emotions reflected in their eyes or that the moment would be gone. As their voices blended together perfectly they realised just how much this song related to them for since they were reunited less than a week ago the strong friendship they had previously had turned into so much more without them even realising. Now standing in front of the others singing their hearts out they finally understood that what they were feeling was more than just friendship. They were attracted to each other.

* * *

As the song came to an end the paused for a second to catch their breath and knowing that they'd have to go back to the others reluctantly broke eye contact. The second they tore their eyes away from each other they knew the moment had gone but the feelings it had stirred in them remained making them both feel confused about how they truly felt about each other as they walked back towards the others.

"So what did you think?" Layla asked hesitantly hoping not only that they liked it but they hadn't picked up on the atmosphere between her and Jason. The last thing she needed right now was for them to ask what happened when she still didn't know herself.

"It was amazing!" Mitchie shrieked excitedly rushing up to her and hugging her tightly. Layla breathed a sigh of relief before laughing and hugging her back.

"Well we know Mitchie like it." Jason chuckled, finally able to find his voice again as he watched Mitchie and Layla stopped hugging and begin to jump around excitedly. "But what about the rest of you?"

"That was great Jase you two should totally do that for Musical Jam." Tess said honestly and the others nodded in agreement.

Well everyone apart from Nate and Shane.

They had seen the way the two had performed and although thought it was amazing there was something about it that unsettled them a little. Not knowing what it was they were reluctant to say that they wanted them to do it for Musical Jam because once they got everyone's full approval Nate and Shane knew there would be no way to stop Layla from making sure it happened.

Layla and Mitchie stopped jumping around when they noticed that Shane and Nate weren't saying anything.

"What's the matter guys? Didn't you like it?" Layla asked worriedly as she made her way towards them more than a little disappointed that her brother and one of her best friend's hadn't like it.

"No it was great honestly." Nate said smiling at her in an attempt to make her feel better but it didn't quite reach his eyes. A clear sign that something was on his mind.

"But?" Layla added bracing herself for them to say that she was rubbish.

"But nothing." Shane stated firmly throwing an arm around her shoulders. "It was brilliant we just need to have band meeting for a couple of minutes okay?"

Layla beamed at them and shocked everyone by giving Shane a quick hug. This was the most affection she had ever shown towards Shane since she'd arrived and everyone watched in awe at the sight. The most shocked of all was Shane who hadn't expected anything like this causing his brain to almost shut down before he realised what was going on and hugged her back.

"Okay we're gonna go over our routines for Musical Jam. You three go do whatever you gotta do."

She quickly let go and bounced back to the other side of the room where she instantly started chatting to Mitchie, Caitlyn, Tess, Peggy and Ella about what they would all be performing in 7 days time. Jason, Nate and Shane watched them for a second before Jason turned to them, hands in his pockets staring at them expectantly.

"Nice cover with the whole band meeting thing." He said casually and the others stared at him in shock unable to believe he hadn't fallen for it too. "What I've known you since forever. You don't think I know how to tell when you're lying? So now she's gone what did you really want to talk about?"

"Not here." Shane hissed grabbing him by the arm and leading him into the hallway making sure that Nate followed behind him and firmly closed the living room door behind him. They didn't want to risk any part of this conversation being heard by the others so Shane continued dragging a confused Jason through the cabin until they made it outside and stood huddled in the small shed at the bottom on the back yard.

Shane waited until the small wooden door was firmly shut and locked before pushing Jason into a small fold up chair in the corner.

"What's going on?" Jason asked nervously as the other members of Connect 3 stood between him and the door with their arms folded over their chests as they watched him squirm in his seat. Although Jason was the oldest out of all of them he couldn't help but feel intimidated by the way they were looking at him and a small part of him was worried that they might have worked out that something had changed between him and Layla.

"What was that in there with my sister?"


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: Sorry this has taken so long to load up I have a rule that I need at least 2 chapters written before I update and I was kinda stuck. Good part is that hopefully after this update there should be another one soon. Maybe even today! Yay! Lol anyway hope you like it I'm going back to reading _Breaking Dawn!_ (I understand now why everyone's crazy about_ Twilight_ I love it! Can't wait for the movie!)**

**Okay that's the end of my kinda long A/N hope you like the story and like usual I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I have created and the plot.**

* * *

Chapter 14

Jason tried his best not to start sweating nervously or start cracking under the pressure and decided to play it cool.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said dumbly.

"Oh cut the crap!" Shane snapped. "Something happened I don't know what but something did! And there's no way I'm going to let you perform that on stage with my sister!"

Nate saw that Shane was beginning to get angry and cut in before things got out of hand.

"I think what Shane's trying to say is that you can't perform that with Layla next week."

"Why not?" Jason argued. He was starting to get angry now. How dare they tell him that he couldn't perform at Musical Jam with Layla! They were perfect together, she was perfect and...

_Wait no!_ Jason yelled in his head. _You don't like her like that. Snap out of it and focus on matter at hand._

"There's nothing wrong with me and Layla performing that song together at Musical Jam so I really don't see what the problem is. Now if you don't mind..."

He made a move to get up but Nate pushed him back down.

"We're not finished yet. Jason,you can't perform the song with Layla." Shane told him firmly.

"Why not?" Jason hissed angrily.

"Because she's a camper and you are a councilor. The jam's only for councilors she's not allowed to perform." Nate stated simply causing Shane to nod in agreement and Jason to burst into laughter.

"Come on you'll have to come up with a better reason than that! We both know that Layla's more a councilor than a camper therefore she has just as much right to perform at Musical Jam as the rest of us!"

Shane and Nate stared at each other for a moment before realising he was right. They didn't give up though. There was something about the performance they'd seen earlier that had put them on edge and although they didn't know what they both believed that under no circumstances was that performance to ever be repeated again.

Jason smirked as he saw the look on their faces and knew that they had been caught out. Shane caught the smirk out of the corner of his eye and glared at him.

"What are you smirking at?"

"Nothing it's just you go all "tough guy" on me dragging me off somewhere to be interrogated determined to change my mind and after one answer you're already stuck."

"We are not stuck!" Nate snapped. "We now exactly what we're doing don't we Shane?"

"Yeah!" Shane added defensively and Jason raised his eyebrows at his little brother and best friend in amusement.

"Really so what else are you going to use to persuade me not to perform at Musical Jam with your sister?"

Shane thought for a second before answering.

"People might get the wrong idea and think that you two are in a relationship." Shane said off hand, not really thinking about he was saying. He was desperate and although he knew there was no possibilty it could be true it was the first thing that came to find and slipped out before he could even stop himself.

The second the words left his mouth Nate burst into laughter at how absurd the idea was while Shane's face went pale in terror at the thought.

"Come on Shane that's totally ridiculous!" Nate chuckled temporarily forgetting that he was on his friend's side to laugh at Shane's stupidity. " No one would ever...."

That was when he saw it. The smallest flash of emotion in Jason's eyes when Shane mentioned the idea that something was happening between him and Layla. It was only there for a fraction of a second but it told Nate everything he needed to know causing him to stop in his tracks and put a hand out, leaning against the workbench to stop himself from falling down. It literally felt like the world had turned on it head and Nate didn't know what to do.

It couldn't be possible. Jason couldn't like Layla. Not in that way anyway but the look in Jason's eyes had told him something different.

He had feelings for Layla!

* * *

Shane and Jason noticed the sudden change in Nate and stopped arguing.

"Are you okay? You look kinda pale." Shane asked worried as Nate leaned hard into the workbench and tried to stop his head from spinning.

"I'm fine." He lied, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and confusion as he tried to make sense of what he'd just seen. "The air's a little stuffy in here."

Shane nodded in agreement.

"You're right I don't know why I dragged us in here anyway. I guess I just got a little carried away. Sorry Jase."

Jason smiled and patted Shane on the shoulder a sure sign that he'd forgiven him.

"It's okay dude just don't try anything like that again. Ever."

Shane laughed.

"Deal."

They did a complicated hand shake and made their way back to the cabin only to stop halfway when they realised Nate wasn't following.

"Nate!" Shane called out catching the 21 year old's attention. "You coming in or what?"

"No you go ahead I'll meet up with you inside I need to talk to Jason on my own for a little while." He whispered distantly.

Shane hesitated for a second but agreed and carried on into the house leaving the two of them alone. It wasn't often that Nate called a meeting only for the Carter brothers and from the way Nate was reacting Shane could tell it was something important.

Jason waited behind and watched as Shane made his way into the cabin before turning to his brother. He hadn't fallen for Nate's excuse in the shed and knew that this had something to do with what had been said earlier he just wasn't sure what. What he did know though was that he was going to stand his ground no matter what. There was no way he was going to do Musical Jam with Layla and there was no why Nate would ever be able to convince him otherwise.

"So what's this about Nate?" Jason said fiercely as he made his way towards his brother. "Are you going to tell me how I can't do Musical Jam with Layla or is this about something else?"

"You cannot do Musical Jam with her and you know exactly why not" He hissed angrily as he began pacing the small porch outside the back door of the cabin, checking every once in a while that no one was hanging around by the open back door who might over hear their conversation.

Jason looked at him confused for a second before seeing the look on his face and realising just what had happened. Nate had seen the look on his face when Shane mentioned their being any type of relationship between him and Layla and now he knew how Jason felt about her her.

"Oh shit." Jason cursed as he ran his hands across his face and through his hair.

"How could you be so stupid Jason!" Nate roared at him, incensed by the situation he had now found himself in. "Out of all the girls in the world that you could fall in love with why did you have to chose your best friend's 17 year old sister? Fucking hell Jason do you have any idea what Shane will do when he finds out?!"

"I didn't mean to okay!" Jason shouted back, just as angry and confused with this situation as Nate was. "Everything was fine until we sang that song and now I don't know anymore."

"What do you mean you don't know?!"

"I mean I don't know if I just want to be her friend or if there's something more. I've never felt this way about her or any other woman before and I'm just..."

Nate sighed when he saw the pain and confusion on his brothers' face causing him to calm down a little. He hadn't meant for this to happen and now he didn't know what to do.

"This is why you can't perform with her at Musical Jam. You'll just get more confused and that'll just make it harder for everyone." Nate said softly.

"But..."

"No buts. You can't perform with her again." Nate sighed and ran a hand through his hair anxiously. "The reason why me and Shane dragged you out here was because we both felt like there was something wrong with you two singing together. Luckily Shane didn't work out what and I didn't put the pieces together until later but what do you think will happen if you perform that at the jam and everyone else sees?"

Jason stared down at the ground, his lips firmly pressed together as he thought about what Nate was saying. Seeing that he was getting to his brother Nate kept going.

"You'll be lucky if only Brown works it out. That shouldn't be too bad. He'll only drag you into his office, verbally abuse you then throw you and Layla out of Camp Rock faster than you can even blink.

If everyone else works it out then you've got a bigger problem. You saw how everyone reacted when Shane and Mitchie got together. They didn't like the fact that Shane was dating someone 2 years younger than him and the things they came up with about all of us just because of who we were dating.. It was out of order. Now imagine what people will say when they find out that you and Layla are together. It was cause an uproar. We'll be lucky if we don't lose our record deal and you don't end up in jail for sleeping with a minor..."

"I'm not sleeping with her!" Jason growled, angry that he would even think that. Jason barely knew what he felt for Layla and now his kid brother was accusing him of sleeping with her!

"I know that but they might not. And we haven't even thought about Shane. You remember that time when Layla was 8 and that little kid tried to kiss her?"

Jason nodded slowly.

"I have never seen Shane so angry with someone in my whole life. That night he went to the kid's house and warned him off. Scared the shit out of him. Not surprising really I'd be scared shitless if I was some little 8 year old boy who was being threatened by a 15 year old just for giving his little sister a kiss on the cheek. I can't even imagine what he'd do when he finds out what's been going on between you two. I bet that jail cell's looking better now isn't it?"

Jason gulped in fear of what would happen to him of Shane ever found out that he liked Layla as more then a friend. He knew just how protective Shane was of Layla and when boys were involved he only got worse. From the age of 6 whenever any other boy apart from him, Nate or Jason went near her he would watch them like a hawk. The only males he trusted around his sister were Uncle Brown, Nate and Jason he didn't even trust Barron and Sander fully until Opening Jam when he saw how they reacted to the other boys wolf whistling at her. If Shane ever found out the one guy he trusted to be around his sister was actually the one who liked her in a romantic way he would go completely berserk!

Nate was right the jail cell definitely was starting to look better.

Without a word Jason got up and started walking back into the cabin. Worried about what he was about to do Nate jumped up and grabbed him by the arm, yanking him back.

"What are you doing?" He asked cautiously as he noticed the blank expression on Jason's face.

"I'm going back into the cabin. Someone's got to tell Layla that we're not doing Musical Jam together anymore."

With that he pulled his arm away and carried on into the cabin leaving Nate behind him wondering if he was really doing the right thing.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: Lol I said I'd try to update ASAP I just didn't think it would be this soon! Turns out I have more written than I thought! Anyway this might be the last update for at least a couple of days as I'm currently scraping a c in psych and have exams coming up soon so really I should be revising!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I've created and the plot. **

* * *

Chapter 15

Layla was still happily bouncing around when Shane walked back into the room. She flashed him a quick smile before going back to Mitchie and jabbering on about how much she was looking forward to Musical Jam and starting Camp Rock. Shane smiled back slightly as he quietly shuffled across the floor and threw himself down on the nearest sofa. After seeing how happy his sister was and how angry Jason had become when they ambushed him Shane was starting to feel a little guilty about trying to get Jason to change his mind. A part of him was telling him that he should go back out and tell Jason he was wrong before Nate had a chance to start talking to him alone. Nate was determined and Shane knew the minute that he said he was staying behind to talk to Jason that he wasn't going to give up and until he'd convinced Jason that not to do Musical Jam with Layla.

Mitchie watched Shane slumped on the sofa in the corner of the room and careful not to catch the attention of the now hyper Layla and the others she looked at him worryingly.

"Are you okay?" She mouthed.

He was about to answer when the front room door swung open to reveal a depressed looking Jason and a worried but satisfied looking Nate. Shane sat up straighter in his seat and braced himself for what was to follow while trying to ignore the gnawing feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach . He knew just from the way they were reacting that Nate had gotten his way. Nate walked over and collapsed into the seat beside him. Both had their eyes firmly trained on Jason as he slowly made his way across the room and tried to get Layla's attention.

"Lay I need to talk to you." He mumbled but Layla was too busy jumping around to pay attention.

"Layla!" He shouted a little louder and she finally turned around to look at him, a huge smile quickly spread across her face as she launched herself forward and hugged him.

"Oh my gosh I'm so glad you're back! I've got so many ideas and.."

"Layla." Jason cut in stopping her in her tracks. "Can we go talk out in the hallway. I need to tell you something."

"Yeah sure." She said as Jason steered them out of the room and into the hallway. " I was just thinking. We could do more than just the one song I mean..."

The second the door was closed he took a deep breath and turned to look at her.

"I'm sorry Layla but I can't do the song with you any more." He said hurriedly and watched as the smile slipped off her face and was replaced with a look of hurt and anger.

"What do you mean you can't do it any more?" She hissed.

"I sort of promised that I'd do something with the guys and..."

Layla laughed out loud. Some how something about this conversation seemed a little familiar.

"So let me get this straight! You're leaving me on my own to go off and do what you want with your two best friends. Wow it's like 7 years all over again!"

"What?" Jason asked confused before it finally clicked and his eyes went wide in realisation. Somehow she had made a link between Shane leaving her at Sunflower House 7 years ago and Jason choosing to perform with Nate and Shane. How she'd managed to reach this conclusion Jason had no idea but he had to stop her right now before it got out of hand. "No Layla no it's not like that. Not at all it's just...."

"It's just you'd rather be with my brother and your brother than me right?" She snapped.

Jason could see that she was getting worked up and reached out to try and calm her down but it only made her worse. As his hand touched her arm she stiffened and quickly moved out of his reach, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she glared at him.

"DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" She screamed from the top of her lungs. Before the words were even fully out of her mouth the living room door had been yanked open and Shane had come flying out. He was quickly followed by the others who gasped when they saw the look of pure anger on Layla's face.

"What the hell is going on here?" Mitchie asked as he looked between the two standing in the hallway trying to work out what provoked such an outburst from the teenager.

"Well?" Ella prompted after a couple of seconds when no one had said anything.

"Ask him!" Layla hissed venemously before turning on her heel and storming off to her room.

"Layla!" Jason yelled after her but she didn't even turn around. Instead she just let off a string of very loud and colourful swear swords before slamming her door shut. A minute or so later they heard the sound of pumping music rattling the door off it's hinges and knew just from the type of music she was playing that whatever had happened was not good.

* * *

"What the hell happened Jason? One minute she's jumping around like a bunny on speed and the next thing she's turning the air blue with some of the most imaginative curses I've ever heard."

Nate grinned suddenly proud of his friend. "They were quite imaginative weren't they? I wonder how she learnt that people could do that with a duck?"

They all stared at him for a second. "What?"

"That's so not the point here Nate!" Caitlyn shrieked.

"Then what is the point?" He asked confused.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes and smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand as she cursed her husband's stupidity.

"The point is Jason did something and now Layla looks like she'd ready to go on a mass killing spree so I guess what we're saying is..."

"WHAT DID YOU DO!" The girls yelled. They shocked Jason so much that the words came tumbling out of his mouth before he even realised what he was saying.

"ItoldherthatIcan'tdoMusicalJamwithherbecauseI'mdoingsomethingwiththeguysandnowshe'sreallyangrywithmeandthinksthati'vechosentheguysoverherlikeShanedid."

By the time he was finished Jason's face was slightly tinged blue and he had to take a deep breath just to stop the room from spinning.

"Okay did anybody get that at all?" Tess asked.

They all shook their heads apart from Nate who was trying to figure it out. Out of all of them he was the one who had the most experience dealing with Jason like this and over the years had made it his personal mission no be able to understand his brother's manic rambling. Not the most exciting of mission but hey-it kept him happy and (in situations like this) actually paid off.

"Oh I got it!" He yelled excitedly after a couple of seconds of intense thinking. "He said that he told her that he couldn't do musical jam with her because he was doing something with us and that now she's really angry with him and thinks that he's chosen us over her like Shane did."

When Nate finished he stood there proud with himself that he'd deciphered what Jason had said while the others stood around him glaring at Jason, slack jawed. It was then that Nate realised what he'd just said and his jaw fell too. Whatever he had expected to happen when Jason told Layla this wasn't it.

* * *

"WHAT!" They all yelled turning on the oldest member of the group and pinning him into a corner.

"You what?!" Mitchie yelled so angrily and so loudly that everybody within hearing distance flinched and covered their ears.

"I can't do Musical Jam with Layla any more." He mumbled before suddenly finding it difficult to look at them and quickly deciding that his shoes were far more interesting.

Luckily he was looking at the ground not in front of him or he would have seen Mitchie's face go bright red with anger before she lunged herself at him ready to rip his throat out.

"But why not?" Tess asked as the others had to physically restrain Mitchie from leaping over and in her own words "slapping some sense into the boy". Tess, like Mitchie, Caitlyn, Ella and Peggy were upset and confused by this latest revelation but unlike her friend Tess had just had a manicure and wasn't about to ruin it by beating Jason to a pulp. So, unusually for her she had decided to go the easy route and try to be kind to him.

Jason was a little disturbed by the niceness but answered anyway.

"That's what Shane and Nate wanted to talk to me about. We're going to do a brand new song together and with that and my lessons I wouldn't have enough time to practice with Layla."

By the time he'd finished they looked angrier than before and Nate and Shane were cursing his stupidity while they banged their heads off the wall behind them. Out of all the things he could have said that was probably the worst thing ever, now he'd just made the problem bigger and dragged Nate and Shane into it too! This had all the makings of a fully fledged brawl between them all and the next couple of minutes would surely secure the fate of the rest of their time at Camp Rock. Sounds drastic doesn't it? Well that's what they were like. Every little thing was turned into a drama and with something like this it had the potential of quickly becoming deadly.

Nate and Shane stopped banging their heads off the wall and held their breaths as they waited anxiously to see what would happen next.

"So.." Caitlyn said slowly and Nate could instantly tell from the tone of her voice that this was the beginning of the end and went back to banging his head off the wall. "Basically you're saying that you chose the guys over Layla?"

"Actually no I'm...."

"Wait" Mitchie said totally cutting off Jason and turning to Shane and Nate. By now Nate had stopped banging his head off the wall and the pair of them flashed her a disarming smile as they tried to ignore the pounding sensation at the back of their heads.

"If he hasn't got enough time to practice your song, do his lessons and practice with Layla does that mean that you two can't do "_Without Love_" with me and Caitlyn?"

Beside her Caitlyn gasped and spun around to glare at them, her eyes narrowing on the two guys in anger causing shivers of fear to go coursing down their spines.

* * *

"You snakes!" She yelled furiously and for a split second Shane could swear that he actually saw steaming coming out of her ears as he and Nate separated, quickly running in different directions as they tried to find something to hide behind before she got really angry. That didn't stop her though as she continued to berate and insult them as they nervously peeked out from behind bookcases and doors. Suddenly she turned on Shane and seeing him as an easier target than her husband; turned on him.

"You little worm! You had this planned all along didn't you?" She shook her finger at him angrily. Shane looked around nervously and quickly realised he hadn't chosen the best place to hide from Caitlyn so in one fluid motion vaulted out from behind the bookcase, straight over the coffee and scrambled up a small cabinet that was just out of Caitlyn's reach. Once he was sure that he was safe up there he breathed a sigh of relief and made a mental note to thank his trainer next time he saw him for introducing him to rock climbing before addressing Caitlyn's question.

"I swear to God I didn't plan anything!" He yelled down desperately. This was partly true. Sure he and Nate had come up with the plan to stop Jason and Layla which caused this whole mess but he never wanted this to happen.

Caitlyn didn't believe this and began to furiously claw at his leg (the only part of his body she could reach) in an attempt to pull him down.

She scoffed.

"Yeah right! I bet you had this planned since Brown announced Musical Jam! You never wanted anything to do with it did you!?"

* * *

While she was busy shouting at Shane and trying to get him down Nate slowly snuck out from his hiding place behind the broom cupboard door and tip toed back into the hallway where everyone else was watching the scene in front of them in shock. Confused, he followed their eye line and his mouth hung open at the sight of his best friend cowering on top of a cabinet while Caitlyn stood below screamed at him to get down and face his punishment like a man.

"How long have they been like that?" Nate whispered, dumbstruck by the sight in front of him.

He wasn't the only one. Mitchie, Ella, Tess and Peggy were also gawking at Caitlyn and Shane with a strange sort of interest.

"About 10 minutes." Tess mumbled never taking her eyes off the two.

She, along with the others, winced visibly when Shane kicked out in an attempt to get Caitlyn away from him and almost hit her in the face with his foot. This didn't have the desired effect though as all it did was make her even anger causing her to spout off a verbal abuse except now it was at such a high pitch that Tess could swear that she could hear dogs howling in agreement in the distance.

"This is ridiculous." Nate muttered to Mitchie who nodded in agreement as she watched her husband try and shake Caitlyn off his leg but she was having none of it though and hung onto him for dear life; refusing to give in as she kept shouting at him. Really Mitchie should have done something about it earlier especially as hiding on top of a cabinet wasn't exactly the safest place for her husband to be but she just couldn't help herself. It was like looking at a car crash. She knew it was wrong and that someone would most likely get hurt but she still couldn't stop looking.

Suddenly the sound of splintering wood filled the air and Shane yelped loudly as the cabinet started wobbling and a huge split appeared in the side of it. Mitchie and the others gasped as they watched Shane wobble about and almost fall off the edge before righting himself again.

"Shane what are you doing? Get off there!" Mitchie yelled once she was sure Shane wasn't going to fall off and her heart stopped hammering loudly in her chest.

"I can't she'll eat me alive!" Shane protested as he pressed himself closer to the wall and as far away from both Caitlyn and the split in the wood as he could.

"If you stay up there you'll get hurt!" Mitchie shouted before cursing loudly at Shane and Caitlyn's stupidity.

"You think I don't know that?! Whoa!" He shouted as another crack filled the air and the cabinet wobbled once again as the split got wider.

"For God's sake Caitlyn back off!" Nate snapped quickly recognising that this had gone too far and if Caitlyn didn't back away to let Shane get down within the next couple of minutes he would end up seriously hurting himself. Not that he'd be much safer on the ground when Caitlyn got him but anything was better than Shane crashing through a cabinet and causing untold amounts of damage to himself and the cabin. Caitlyn studied Shane and Nate for a second,assessing the situation before sighing and moving back to allow Shane to cautiously make his way down from the broken cabinet. The second his feet touched the ground Caitlyn lunged for him but Nate pulled her back by her collar and stood between the two as Shane quickly hid behind Mitchie.

" Leave him alone Caitlyn. We're still doing "_Without Love_" so just calm down and we can talk about this rationally."

"Why should I calm down Nate? You two have obviously had this planned from the beginning and now your feckless brother has just....."

"STOP IT! JUST STOP IT!"

They all turned around to look at Ella in shock. Usually the quietest and less likely to shout at anyone it took a lot for Ella to lose her temper. In the whole time they'd known her it had only happened once. The time she finally stood up to Tess before _2 stars_ therefore they were all shocked to hear and see how angry she was let alone that she was shouting at them.

"Guys don't you see you're all fighting over the wrong thing here?" She sighed exasperatedly. "Who cares about you're stupid song..."

"I care about my stupid song." Caitlyn snapped.

"Fine. But is that more important than Layla?"

Mitchie and Caitlyn looked at her confused.

"What's Layla got to do with this?"

"Everything." Jason whispered and they all turned around to look at him. "This isn't about "_Without Love_" or anything else. It had everything to do with the fact that I let Layla down and now..."

"She thinks that we're all going to leave." Shane said shocked as realisation hit him and the others.

That's what this whole argument had been about it hadn't had anything to do with Caitlyn, Nate, Mitchie or even Shane (who still sometimes thought that the world revolved around him). Instead it had everything to do with a 17 year old girl that they all loved who firmly believed that they were all going to pack up and leave her behind.

They were so shocked that it took Mitchie and the others a couple of seconds to realise that the blur of colour that raced past them was actually in fact Nate, Shane and Jason.

"You 3 better get your asses back here and into the front room before I get really angry. And I'm talking first thing in the morning "oh shit" angry not the normal cranky afternoon kind!" Mitchie yelled once she worked it out what they were doing.

She heard them skidding on the floor and crashing into each other before sulkily walking into the room a couple of seconds later and throwing themselves down onto the floor.

"You 3 are going to go nowhere near that room tonight especially you." Tess snapped pointing at Jason who had now buried his head in his hands in an attempt to stop himself from screaming angrily at his own stupidity.

"Well one of us has got to go!" Shane argued, anger blazing in his eyes as they tried to stop him from leaving the room. "She already thinks we're all set to leave her what do you think is gonna happen when we all leave her alone? She'll think it's true and I can't have her thinking that. Not any more."

Shane sighed and all the anger he had previously was replaced with sadness at the thought of the pain his sister had been in all these years. He knew somethng was wrong when he first saw her almost a week ago but he couldn't work out what it was. Now he knew. She thought that they never wanted her and now that they were back she thought they would leave again. The thought made Shane's heart break and he couldn't stand to let her believe that for a second longer. If they wouldn't let him do something then someone had to do something!

"You all saw the look on her face before she stormed out. Sure she was angry but there was something else. Something in her eyes that I've never seen before and that scares me. I have never seen anything like it before. We can't leave her alone like that! God knows what she'll do."

The others nodded in agreement.

"You're right." Mitchie said softly as she looked at the pained faces of her husband and his two best friends. "That's why I'm going to see if she's okay and try to convince her that we're not going to leave. It will take some time but she needs to know that we're here for her now and that no matter what might have happened in the past-" Shane flinched and she loked at him sympathetically"-we will always be here."

Shane and Jason nodded along silently unable to say anything. Both were too busy wallowing in guilt and self pity to respond. Out of the three of them they felt the most responsible for what had happened although all 3 accepted the blame owed to them for the mess they had caused.

"Fine go." Nate said quietly speaking for all of them. "Just tell her that we're here and if she needs us we'll be there."

Mitchie nodded solemnly.

"I'll come and tell you what's happening as soon as I can." She said silently before slowly leaving the room, closing the front room door behind her with a soft click.

* * *

They waited anxiously for a couple of minutes in the silence of the front room until they heard the music stop and knew that Layla had let Mitchie in and they were now talking.

Once the music stopped the guys groaned and threw themselves back onto the floor covering their faces with their hands. They hated this. Not knowing what was happening or how she was feeling. It was so alien to them as they always knew what was going on when it came to Layla but now they were in foreign territory and that scared them.

Caitlyn, Tess, Peggy and Ella were also worried for Layla but were a little better at controlling their emotions than the guys. They had all become such close friends in the short time they had known each other that the thought of the person they saw as their little sister being so upset caused them pain but they knew it was nothing compared to what the guys were feeling. The bond that the four of them shared, no matter how strained or fragile it was at the moment, would last forever and was stronger than that which had been forged between the gang many years ago. The gang recognised this the second they were all together but instead of resenting it they embraced it knowing that their friendship was one that could never be broken. It still amazed them that after all the time they'd been apart and how much had happened since they last saw each other that they still had such a strong bond. That's how Caitlyn, Tess, Ella and Peggy knew that whatever pain they were experiencing would be 10 times worse for Connect 3.

Unable to watch them suffering any longer Ella, Peggy and Tess quickly announced that it was time they were leaving and left the cabin promising to call in before lessons tomorrow to find out how everything left. They were soon followed by Caitlyn who scurried out of the room and into the bedroom she shared with Nate claiming that it was late and that she had to be up early for her music production class the next day.

The guys weren't bothered though they were too busy thinking to pay any attention and only noticed that she was gone when they heard the door close behind her.

They waited in the unnatural silence for what seemed like forever before Nate finally shattered it asking the question that everyone dreaded.

"Shane? No you think we did the right thing?" To anyone else in the group it may have sounded like he felt guilty for agreeing to do the song with Shane and Jason but they knew better. Of course a part of him felt guilty for that but the real thing that was causing him pain was the decision Shane made 7 years ago. The one that Jason and Nate had encouraged him to make.

Shane sucked in a deep breath and tried to answer but couldn't find the words. There were so many answers to that question that he didn't know what to say. Up until today Shane had thought that everything he did for his sister had been in her best interests but now....

Shane sighed and turned to look at Nate, his eyes filled with sadness and regret.

"I don't know any more." He whispered silently but to everyone in the room it was the most deafening sound in the world.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hey here's the next chapter hope you like it! Like usual I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except for the one's I've created and the plot.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. It really means a lot to me that you like this story. Love Laylora xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 16

Mitchie silently made her way up the hallway and braced herself before reaching out and knocking on the door. The music coming from the room was deafening so Mitchie wasn't surprised when Layla didn't answer. Cautiously she opened the door and stuck her head into the room, slowly dragging the rest of her body in after her. Ever so slightly she inched forward and quietly closed the door behind her in an attempt to not draw attention to herself. It wasn't that she was in any way sneaky or worried that Layla would shout at her but that she didn't want to disrupt what she was seeing. Although she had heard of Layla's many talents apart from singing she had yet to see any of them. Now standing in the shadows watching her sister- in- law dance so beautifully she couldn't help but gaze at how gracefully she moved. Fluidly the girl moved around the room, never missing a beat as the music kept changing. Eventually the song finished and Layla stopped abruptly in the middle of the room, her spine straightening as she tried to catch her breath.

"How long have you been there?" She whispered slightly causing Mitchie to jump suddenly.

"How did you know I was watching?" She asked as she stepped out of the shadows and handed Layla a bottle of water from beside her bed. She looked like she needed it. Layla smiled gratefully and took the bottle off her, drinking half the contents in a couple of seconds.

"Thanks." She said quietly before finishing the bottle and throwing it in the bin beside her bed. The small smile she had on her face while dancing disappeared as she turned to Mitchie and fixed her with a serious look. "What are you doing here Mitchie?"

Mitchie sighed and sat down on the bed patting the spot next to her indicating that she wanted Layla to join her. Reluctantly the girl made her way towards her and sat on the edge of the bed. Mitchie had never seen her look so tense before and as she scanned over the younger woman's face she gasped as she finally realised what Shane had been saying when he talked about her eyes. Sure enough they blazed with, pain and anger. Everything you would expect after something like this but behind that pain and anger there was something else. Something that Mitchie couldn't quite put her finger on but sent shivers down her back and caused her stomach to churn with worry for the person she saw as her little sister.

Eventually she dragged her eyes away from Layla's and began talking.

"Jason-Jason told us what happened. He told us that you two couldn't do Musical Jam together anymore. I'm sorry Layla."

"I wasn't that bothered anyway. In fact he probably did me a favour. I've got so much to do I wouldn't have been able to practice anyway." She said snappily although they both knew that wasn't true. Layla had her heart set on that performance and Mitchie knew just how much it was hurting her even if Layla wouldn't say it out loud. Mitchie realised that she was doing it to protect herself and nodded along silently in agreement.

They sat there in silence for a minute before Mitchie opened her mouth again.

"Layla.." She started hesitantly. She wasn't quite sure how Layla was going to handle this and didn't want to push the girl too far. It was clear to anyone that she was already struggling to keep control and Mitchie didn't want to push her over the edge. "Jason also...He err... He also told us that you think that we're going to leave. Is that true?"

"Well why wouldn't you?!" She snapped angrily before flinging herself off the bed and pacing the room furiously. "I mean it's not like it hasn't happened before! Shane made a promise to me 7 years ago did you know that? He promised that I wouldn't have to go into care then guess what he did? Dropped my ass in a home then left with my best friends to become Connect 3! Of course he did all this after he swore to me- he _pinky _swore- that he would come back but he didn't. He left me all alone with no one and I needed him! I needed all of them but they were gone Mitchie! GONE! They couldn't even be bothered to keep in touch after a year apart from Jason and even then he was too ashamed to admit he knew me. Every present he sent was anonymous but I still knew it was him. That's why we were so close that whole time he was the only one who even cared enough to think about me. Shane and Nate probably wouldn't care if I was dead..."

"That's not true!" Mitchie argued back angrily. She was more than prepared to listen to Layla's rant knowing the the girl needed to get it out of her system but to say something like that was taking it too far. " Those boys love you. Dammit Layla you're their best friend and Shane's your brother! Do you realise just how lucky you are to have people like them in your life? Sure Shane may have made some mistakes when he was younger but how was he supposed to know this would happen? He was 17 Layla! He couldn't cope he did what he thought was the best thing for all of you at the time can't you see that?"

"It doesn't make it hurt any less." She snapped back before calming down slightly. "Fine. I may have overreacted about them wishing I was dead but at the end of the day they still didn't want me. Shane obviously didn't because he left me there, Nate didn't because he didn't even try to keep in contact and Jason...Jason... He's just as bad as Shane."

"Because he wouldn't do musical jam with you?" Mitchie asked confused.

"Because he led me on Mitchie. He made me think that something was going to happen that didn't. He set me up just like Shane did and I was stupid enough to fall for it. Again!"

Mitchie sighed. "Layla-"

"You know that was the worst bit about what Shane did? He told me he would come back although he knew he couldn't. He must have known before he left that he was going to go off the rails that's why he left me there I know that now but he should have never said he was coming back.

I was lucky Sunflower House was amazing. The people were great, he had made sure of that, but I didn't care because I was only going to be there a year at the most. Then Shane would be 18 and he'd come back to get me. But he never did. He convinced me that he'd be back and I waited and waited but nothing.

Then all the letters, the phone calls the presents they sent just because they missed me, they all stopped and I was left alone with nothing to cling on to. Shane chose his friends and career over me and I was left to deal with the consequences.

Now Jason's decided that he'd rather further Connect 3's popularity and be with Shane and Nate than me! It's been less than a week and the same thing's starting to happen again except this time it will be worse."

"How?" Mitchie asked curiously.

Layla stopped pacing and tears came to her eyes.

"This time he'll take you too." She whispered and the floodgates opened.

The tears were now unstoppable as she collapsed to the ground and started sobbing. The second the tears started Mitchie got off the bed and rushed towards her in an attempt to calm her down but any reassurances she gave Layla were lost in the noise as her crying intensified. Realising that mothing she was saying was getting through to her Mitchie grabbed Layla by the arms and pulled her towards her, hugging her tightly.

In that second the girl's sobbing increased and she started screaming hysterically as she clung onto Mitchie for dear life. All those years off keeping everything bottled up had finally broken her and now she was letting it all out, unable to stop it even if she wanted to.

"We are not leaving okay." She whispered fiercely into the girls ear as Layla continued to sob into Mitchie's shoulder. Her own voice was thick with emotion as she tried her best not to cry at how innocent and lost Layla looked. "Jason is a stupid boy he didn't think, he didn't know. None of us knew that you felt that way."

"I don't want to be alone anymore Mitchie!" She howled out in pain and Mitchie started stroking her hair in an attempt to calm her down as she continued to cry out in pain.

"You won't be I swear Layla. I swear on my life you will never be alone again. We will always be there for you no matter what. You will never _ever_ feel like that again." Mitchie said determinedly as a few tears of her own slid down her face. Mitchie had never been more sure of something in her life and knew the second the words were out of her mouth that they were true. Her bond with Layla was so strong that she would do anything to stop her feeling pain like this ever again.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" Layla screamed painfully as the sobbing reached it's climax and the tears just kept on coming. Obviously what Mitchie had said had got through to her but the pain was still there and Layla was still suspicious, expecting Mitchie to get up and leave any second.

Mitchie didn't say anything she just waited until the crying stopped and Layla had calmed down. She waited for what seemed like forever until the tears finally stopped flowing down the teenagers' face and Layla started sniffling- A clear sign that she'd finished her little crying jag. Silently she reached over to Layla bedside table and grabbed a box of tissues, handing one to Layla so she could blow her nose and using the other one to wipe the tears away.

"Do you feel a little better now?" She asked softly as she wiped the tracks her tears had made when they mixed with her mascarra. Mitchie made a mental note to herself to but Layla some waterproof make up when this situation was over as she wiped away the now ruined make up.

Layla nodded slightly and gave her a tiny smile.

"Yeah I do. A little. Thanks Mitchie. You didn't have to stay with me." She said quietly, never taking her attention off the ground.

"Hey that's what I'm here for. If you ever have a problem I'll be there. I promise."

Layla's head suddenly jerked up and tears came to her eyes.

"Are you sure? After so many promises I'm not sure what to believe anymore." She whispered staring off into the distance as a couple of silent tears rolled down her face.

"Well you can believe in me when I say that we're never going to leave you alone again." Mitchie said confidently leaning over and wiping the offending tears off the girls' face. "In fact to prove it to you I think you, me and the rest of the girls should do a song together at Musical Jam. What do you think?"

Layla bit her lip nervously. "I don't know. I mean I don't want you to do it just because you think you have to. I bet you'd rather be doing something else."

Mitchie scoffed.

"Please! Don't start that again! We all love you! Plus if the guys can do something so can we and I bet you $50 we'll be better than them!"

Layla laughed a little and Mitchie smiled as she saw some of the Layla she had grown to love over the last couple of days returning.

"So have we got a deal?" Mitchie asked sticking her hand out.

Layla smiled and shook her outstretched hand.

"Deal."

Mitchie smiled and jumped up from her spot on the ground next to Layla so that she could head out the door.

"Where are you going!?" Layla asked, suddenly panicked that Mitchie was leaving for good.

"Don't worry." She said calmly, making note of the panic in Layla's voice. "There's a few worried pop stars waiting for me in the front room. Once I've told them everything is okay I'll be right back with ice cream and a DVD then we can spend the rest of the night in here. Just us. I promise."

Layla nodded slightly in agreement and Mitchie turn back towards the open door.

"Mitchie?"

"Yep?"

"Do you..." Layla asked hesitantly. "Do you think you we could have a rain check on the ice cream and DVD? Not that it's not a great idea or anything it's just I kinda want to talk to Shane."

Mitchie tried her best to hide her shocked expression as she nodded along dumbly. When she asked for the rain check Mitchie was ready to argue tooth and nail with her, not wanting to leave her alone while she was like this but the shock of her request wiped her mind completely of any arguments. In fact she was happy that Layla had made such a decision it was more than her or any of the others could even dream of.

"Sure no problem." She said causally, trying not to blow it by letting Layla know how excited she was. " Do you want me to go and get Shane now?"

Layla nodded slightly before getting up and hugging Mitchie.

"Thanks Mitch." She said softly as Mitchie hugged her back.

"Hey don't worry about it. That's what big sisters are for." Mitchie winked. "I'll go get Shane."

Slowly she let go of Layla and walked towards the door, closing it with a subtle click before happy clapping excitedly and running down the hallway towards the front room. This was the break through they'd all been waiting for. For once Layla wanted her brother instead of everyone else and Mitchie would be dammed if she would be the one to waste this opportunity.

* * *

**Back in the front room with Connect 3:**

Since Shane answered that dreaded question no one in the room had said a word for they knew one word would lead onto another and eventually they would all end up shouting at each other as a way of coping with the guilt. All three of them felt bad about what they had done, even more so when they realised the true extent of the damage that had been caused. None of them had expected this not even in their wildest dreams (or in their case-nightmares). So they stayed silent,each trapped in their own thoughts as they tried to escape the guilt.

This only became harder when they heard the heart breaking cries coming from Layla's room. Even from the front room they could hear it and all three of them had to close their eyes and bite their bottom lips in an attempt to try and block out the noise but that hadn't been enough for Shane.

After a minute or so the sobbing had become too much for Shane and he made an attempt to escape the room; ignoring completely the previous warning by Tess to stay away. By the time Nate and Jason had realised he was halfway down the hallway. It took all their strength to drag a red faced Shane kicking and screaming down the hallway and back into the room.

"What are you doing?!" He yelled as he tried to pull away from them but they held him firmly by the top of the arms, refusing to let go.

"Mitchie said she'd handle it." Nate winced almost as if the word were to painful for him to hear let alone say. "We've got to trust her and leave her to it. When things are okay we'll go and check on her ourselves okay?"

"So what? You expect me to stay here and listen to that and do nothing! I can't do that Nate and you can't either! Admit it!"

"We have no choice Shane!" Jason whispered fiercely. "There is no second option. This is it. Mitchie knows what she's doing. She's about to start her medical training on the psych ward at St Anthony's so I think she has a slightly better understanding of the mind than we do. If she says we leave her alone then we leave her alone."

Shane sighed and gave up struggling. He was right. If anyone was going to get to the bottom of this it would be Mitchie.

"Fine." He whispered. "Just let me go. I can't stand to listen to this any longer."

They slowly released their grip and Shane shrugged them off as he grabbed a bottle of scotch off the table and made his way out into the back yard.

The Carter brothers stared at each other for a second before shrugging and heading out after him.

_If you can't beat them...._

* * *

By the time they came back the sobbing had stopped and the bottle of scotch was completely empty. All three members of Connect 3 sighed with relief when they walked back into the house and heard the silence. The relief was short lived though as by the time they reached the front room Layla had let off a blood curdling howl of pain and the sobbing had started again only this time it was ten times worse. They instantly reached for another bottle.

"That's it! I can't stand this any longer." Shane mumbled half an hour later. The sobbing had tailed off about 5 minutes ago and now they were waiting in the deafening silence dying to know what was going on. Unable to stand the suspense any longer Shane threw the second half empty bottle across the floor and stormed out of the room.

Nate and Jason were poised to chase after him when they heard a loud bang and ran out into the hallway to find Shane and Mitchie on the floor, grumbling to each other. They'd obviously just ran into each other and in any other situation the guys might have laughed but not today. They were more concerned about why Mitchie was currently sprawled across the floor when she should be with Layla.

"Mitchie?" Jason asked confused as he and Nate helped pick them up off the ground. "I thought you were staying with Layla?"

"I was." She huffed as she brushed herself down and noticed the huge gash in the bottom of her favourite shirt. She instantly knew it was ruined and groaned before shooting Shane a dirty look. " But now she wants Shane."

The guys stared at her, shocked, their mouths open. This was the last thing they expected.

"I don't know why she'd want him though." She grumbled darkly. "Stupid, clumsy,irrational, hot headed oaf."

Shane snapped out of it and glared at her. He was about to argue when Mitchie suddenly lifted her head and sniffed the air around her. Cautiously she moved towards Shane until she was right next him and smelt his breath. Shane knew what she was doing and tried not to breathe out but eventually he had to choice in the matter. The second he did he gulped as he watched her face turn red.

"You've been drinking haven't you?" She hissed angrily. Normally Mitchie and the others didn't care if they drank (hell they drank almost as much as the guys could- sometimes even more) but after an occasion when Connect 3 had got so drunk they were completely catatonic for almost two days they had agreed that none of them would drink before a concert or more importantly a lesson. This meant for the entire time they were at Camp Rock (with the exception of the weekends) all alcohol was off limits.

Shane stared down at Mitchie's angry face and instead of feeling bad like usual he felt his own anger stirring within him.

"What else did you expect me to do Mitchie! I could hear her from all the way over here! Nate and Jason could too. She was upset scared and in pain but we couldn't do anything because you told us not to! We just couldn't handle it okay!"

Her face softened and she sighed, wrapping her arms around Shane neck as she hugged him too her. He relaxed visibly and hugged her back, resting his head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you had to listen to that." She whispered.

"I just don't like thinking that she's in pain." He mumbled into Mitchie's hair as he hugged her tightly before she pulled away and stroked the side of his face affectionately.

"I know I didn't like it either but now you have the chance to make her feel better. She wants _you_ Shane. Not me doesn't that say something?"

"I don't know Mitchie." He said doubtfully as she grabbed his hand and pulled him gently away from Nate and Jason towards Layla's room. "I mean why now? I'm the one who caused all this...well Jason may have played a small part. But the point still remains the same. Why would she want me when I caused her so much pain?"

Mitchie sighed and turned around to face him.

"Because." She said softly, squeezing his had affectionately. "You are her big brother, her best friend and the one person she loves the most in the world. No matter how angry or upset she may be with you she can never hate you. Not really. She loves you Shane and I know for a fact that you love her too. You two need each other, the more I see you around each other the more I understand just how much."

"But..."

"Ah! No buts. She needs you and you need her. So get in there and help her!"

Shane gave her a lopsided grin.

"You're right Mitch. Thanks."

He made a move for the door handle but was stopped by Mitchie calling out his name.

"What?" He asked anxious to see Layla again for the first time in what seemed like forever.

"Just make sure you stand down wind." She said jokingly, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "You smell like a brewery."

Shane rolled his eyes but chuckled as he reached out for the handle again.

Taking a deep breath he slowly opened the door and stepped into the room.


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: Hey I'm back. Sorry if it's taken me a while to update I've been finding the last couple of chapters hard to put it to words if that makes any sense. Anyway here's the next chapter hope you enjoy it and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**Like usual I don't own Camp Rock of any of the characters.. blah blah blah you get the picture. If you don't check the other pages you finf it there! **

**xoxo**

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Chapter 17

Shane barely stepped into the room when Layla came running straight at him and jumped into his arms. Shocked by the reaction and the extra weight Shane stumbled backwards and leaned against the door, slamming it shut behind him before wrapping his arms around her.

"I am so so sorry Shane." She rambled, crying into his shoulder as she clung to him desperately. "I didn't mean to be such a bitch to you when you came back it's just I didn't want to get hurt again and I knew if I started being nice to you again it would hurt more when you left and..."

"Whoa! Layla calm down and take a breath before you hyperventilate." He said calmly but she still kept on going talking all kinds of nonsense so he raised her head off his shoulder and looked her in the eyes before taking a deep breath, indicating for her to do the same. She looked at him for a second before complying and taking a deep breath. They stayed like that for a couple of seconds just breathing in deeply before Layla finally calmed down enough to speak clearly instead of rambling.

"I am so sorry Shane." She whispered again laying her head back down on his shoulder, careful to avoid the wet spot she'd created on his t shirt. It would probably leave a stain but Shane didn't care. He was more worried about Layla at the moment than his shirt (even if it was one of his favourites).

"What have you got to be sorry about Layla this was all my fault." He said sadly as he stroked her hair gently. "I should have realised what leaving you behind would do but I still did it. I'm the one who should be sorry."

"I don't care anymore Shane." She mumbled quietly. " I know why you did it just promise me you won't leave again. I don't think I can take it especially now I've got to know everyone else."

Shane rested his head on top of hers and sighed painfully as he felt more tears soaking through his t shirt.

"Lay did you honestly think we were going to leave just because Jason couldn't do Musical Jam with you anymore?"

She stiffened in his arms before nodding her head slightly and Shane felt like he'd been punched right in the gut.

He wrapped his arm protectively around his little sister and fought back the urge to go and beat Jason up. Although it was mostly his and Nate's fault he couldn't help but feel angry towards Jason for making Layla feel like this.

"We won't leave Layla. Not this time." He said quietly, not quite able to raise his voice for fear of ruining the moment. Although he was filled with guilt and sadness for what Layla was going through a small part of him had never been happier. This was the closest he and Layla had been since before their mother died and it felt like a part of him that had been dead for so long had come back to life.

The room was silent for what seemed like forever before Layla finally stopped crying and lifted her head to look Shane in the eyes, a small smile spread across her face.

"I believe you Shane." She whispered them hugged him again, only this time it was lighter. Like she was doing it because she wanted to not because she needed to and Shane felt like he was on top of the world.

Suddenly Layla let off a huge yawn causing her whole body to shudder.

Shane laughed. "Sounds like someone's tired."

"Am not." She muttered as she snuggled into his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"Layla your falling asleep on my shoulder, give it a couple of minutes and I bet you $100 you'll be drooling and muttering about how much you love Cheese."

"I do love cheese." She muttered sleepily and Shane laughed. "Gouda's the best."

Shane laughed and shook his head.

"See told you. Now get down and get to bed." He insisted as he tried to pry her hands from around his neck.

"Nah uh!" She said stubbornly clinging on tightly and shaking her head from side to side. "Like it here. Not leaving."

Shane sighed before giving in and making sure her arms and legs were firmly wrapped around his body before moving towards the bed. He tried to put her down but she still refused to let go.

"Come on Layla it's almost 2 am and we both have classes in the morning. How are you going to teach a bunch of teenagers advanced dance if your dead on your feet?"

Layla suddenly groaned and went limp in Shane's arms.

"Layla what's wrong you're scaring me." He asked worriedly shaking her slightly to check if she was still conscious. She groaned and swatted him around the back of the head with her hand.

_Yep definitely still alive._

"I have to teach dance with Jason tomorrow and I've got a guitar lesson with him afterwards." She muttered and Shane couldn't help but laugh a little. She smacked him across the chest. "Don't laugh it's not funny!"

"I know, I know it's just I never thought I'd see the day when you'd be scared of a boy. When you were little I had to scare them away from _you_."

"I'm not scared of Jason." She said defiantly, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted at him stubbornly. "I just don't want to see him. He's a big meanie bo beanie."

Shane burst out laughing again. "_Meanie bo beanie_? How old are you? 5?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and childishly stuck out her tongue before cracking up herself.

"You're right that was kinda childish. I still don't want to see him though." She added once they'd stopped laughing.

* * *

By this time Shane had managed to pry her off him and the two of them were laying on Layla's bed. Shane was laying back fully on the bed while Layla was laying next to him with her head leaning slightly on his chest as she stared at the ceiling above her while Shane played with a strand of her hair.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked when Shane suddenly stopped playing with her hair and she looked up to see the far away look on her brother's face. He carried on thinking, ignoring her completely so she nudged him causing him to snap out of daydream temporarily.

He smiled down at her and chuckled a little.

"I was thinking about the first time we did this." He said and she looked at him confused.

"What you mean that time when I was 6 and I gave you my cold so mum insisted we stayed in the same room so she wouldn't have to trek from one side of the apartment to the other everyday?"

Shane shook his head.

"No. It was way earlier then that you probably don't remember much. You were only just over a year old so I doubt you remember anything. Anyway-mum had gone across the hallway to talk to Nate and Jason's parents about them coming over for a "play date" and left me and you alone in the front room. I didn't care because I was watching cartoons and you were asleep so I was fine but then you woke up and I started to freak out. I'd never been left alone with you before and I didn't know what to do especially when you started screaming..."

"So what did you do?" Layla asked intently. She'd never heard this story before. She just thought that it was something she did when she was little she didn't think there was anything behind it and now she was intrigued.

He smiled softly.

"I picked you up-which believe me with the hand eye co ordination I had when I was 8 and the way you wiggled was not easy- and sat you down on the sofa with me hoping it would shut you up. Amazingly it worked. If only it was that easy to shut you up now. _Ouch_!" He yelped when Layla viciously poked him in the ribs with her pointy elbows. He rubbed the spot and glared at her for a second before carrying on with the story. "Anyway you sat there for a while just watching the TV while I was sprawled across the sofa focused completely on Buggs Bunny when you suddenly crawled over,laid down next to me exactly like you are now and fell asleep. You've been doing it ever since."

"Wow! I never knew that! I wonder why I did it?"

Shane shrugged.

"I dunno. Mum said it had probably had something to do with you liking the sounds of people's hearts beating. "_She probably finds it comforting_" She said but for some reason it was only with me. If anyone else tried you would start crying. I guess that's when I realised that I actually liked being your big brother."

Layla looked at him incredulously.

"It took you over a year to realise that?"

Shane scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Yeah I kinda didn't like you for the first year or so. I mean I loved it in Dublin and then mum decided to follow _him_." Shane sneered as he mentioned Layla's father. "back here. The next thing I know _he's _gone and there you are screaming all the time and getting all mum's attention. I didn't like it but then you did that and in that second I realised that sure my life had changed but in a good way. I was a big brother now."

"So you didn't like me at all?" She whispered silently pulling away from him.

Shane sighed and ran a hand through his hair realising suddenly that his probably wasn't the best conversation to be having with her right now.

"God I'm such a bad brother aren't I?" He groaned as he ran his other hand over his face. Beside him Layla sighed, feeling a little bad for him. She watched him for a second before leaning over and hugging him.

"No your not." She said quietly. "Hell you may not be the best brother in the world but you're mine and I wouldn't trade you for anything."

Shane pulled his hands away from his face and smirked.

"What?" Layla asked and Shane burst out laughing.

"Oh my God that was one of the corniest things I've ever heard!"

Layla's mouth fell open in shock and her eyes narrowed as she reached and grabbed the pillow from under Shane's head then using it to whack him across the face.

"Hey!" Shane yelled trying to protect himself from the pillow.

"That's the last time I say anything nice about you." She huffed finally putting down the pillow and crossing her arms across her chest in mock anger.

Shane put his hands up in defense.

"Okay Okay I'm sorry. You're right you were being nice and I should have just taken the complement no matter how cheesy it was. I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes before smiling.

"You're forgiven now give me a hug!"

Shane chucked at the sudden change in his sister's mood but complied. As his arms wrapped around her he caught a glimpse of his watch.

"Shit!" Shane yelled suddenly letting go and jumping off the bed. " it's 4:30! We've got to be up in 3 and a half hours for our first lesson! I gotta go get some sleep."

He was halfway across the room when Layla called out his name. He turned around.

"What is it Lala?" He asked using the nickname he'd given her after her first disastrous attempt at saying her own name. He didn't know why he'd used it. Maybe it was the look of pure fear across her face as he tried to leave or the conversation they had been having but he suddenly felt like they were kids again.

"Do you think you could stay here tonight?I mean you don't have to if you don't want to it's just..." She said hesitantly trailing off at the end.

"You want to be sure that I'll still be here in the morning." Shane said quietly.

She nodded slightly and stared down at the ground ashamed that she would even think that.

Shane sighed and made his way back towards the bed, taking off his shoes and lying back down.

A couple of seconds later Layla had done the same thing and sighed as she leaned her head against Shane's chest calming down instantly as she heard the constant beat of his heart. Her mother was right and for the first time in over 7 years she drifted into a peaceful sleep, comforted by the fact that when she woke up in the morning she would never be alone again.


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N: Here's chapter 18 hope you like it hopefully if things go to plan another chapter will be up soon. I'm really enoying writing this story!**

**lol thanks for reading and reviewing! xoxo**

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Chapter 18

Layla sighed as she reached the dance studio and looked through the huge front windows to see a mismatched group of teenagers in front of her. They all looked like they were half asleep and as such had decided to turn up to a dance class in the most inappropriate (as well as crumpled) clothes they could find.

She shuddered and hoped to God that this was just because it was the first day and they hadn't quite got with the programme yet. She would have been the same if Mitchie hadn't dragged Shane and Layla out of bed this morning and arranged all their clothes, food, everything. If it had been up to Layla she would still be asleep curled up in bed right up until the last minute before tumbling out, grabbing whatever she could find to wear and a slice of toast before racing out the door.

Thanks to Mitchie (who was in Layla's eyes a life saver) this hadn't happened and after scarfing down a huge breakfast courtesy of an apologetic Jason she walked the trail to the camp, dressed in a bright yellow and white sun dress and looking forward to her first day as a camper/instructor at Camp Rock. Well she was until she saw the people in the studio.

On second glance most of them looked the same age as Layla if not older apart from a few who looked like they could be at the younger end of the scale. This made her a little nervous and butterflies started fluttering around in the pit of her stomach.

When she accepted the job from Brown she knew that she'd have to teach people the same age as her but she hadn't expected so many. Just by looking she estimated that there was over 20 people in that room and Layla knew for a fact that the vast majority of them would be in the same classes as her making the situation even more awkward.

As she continued to stare disbelievingly at the gaggle of people in front of her she caught the attention of a boy standing by the window. Their eyes locked for a second as he looked at her with a confused expression before a wide smile smiled stretched across his face and he winked. She smiled back instantly feeling the need to get to know this new boy.

Before she could to anything though her phone started ringing. Groaning she looked down to see the name on the caller ID and hissed angrily before letting off a string of colourful swear words.

Flipping the new, sparkly (literally. It was_ covered_ in glitter) blue custom made phone Tess had taken her out to buy a couple of days ago she put it to her ear.

"What do you want Jason?" She snapped.

Layla could practically hear Jason flinching away from the phone at the tone of her voice before he answered.

"Someone stuck a nail in my front tires this morning..."

"Oh really?" Layla said with fake surprise trying to keep the humour out of her voice.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" He asked.

Layla gasped. "Of course not! How would I know such a thing?"

On the other end of the line she heard Jason sigh. No doubt he knew it was her who had punctured the front tires of his red Porsche Carrera before she'd left this morning.

"Whatever." He muttered not wanting to start another argument. "I just thought I'd let you know that I'm gonna be late you'll have to start the class without me."

Layla suppressed a groan. This was not what she had planned! She thought that he'd just get a lift off someone else and she could be happy in the knowledge that she'd caused him some distress. The last thing she wanted was to walk into that room on her own. As much as she hated Jason at the moment she'd rather go with him than walk into that studio all on her own.

"Fine!" She spat angrily, finally resigning herself to her fate. "Just get your ass down here ASAP!"

She snapped the phone shut and disconnected before Jason could talk to her anymore then waited for a second before letting out a frustrated scream. Suddenly feeling happier after her spontaneous screaming she returned her attention to the window and the boy with the breathtaking eyes only to find that he'd gone.

"Looking for me?"

Layla jumped and turned around to see the boy from the window leaning against the door to the studio, watching her intently, a smirk plastered over his face. She felt herself blushing slightly at the way he was staring at her but quickly brushed it off as she began looking him up and down in return.

He looked round about the same age as her, maybe a little bit younger but only by a couple of month-if that. He had amazing brown eyes, shaggy light brown hair and killer smile which Layla had no doubt would make any girl go weak at the knees. His choice in clothes wasn't that bad either (unlike everyone else in the room).

The boy sighed and rolled his eyes at her, flicking his fringe out of his eyes as he did so with a shake of his head.

"I can see this isn't getting me anywhere." He mumbled before jumping the last few steps leading up to the cabin and landing beside her, sticking his hand out. "Name's Danny."

It took Layla a little while to work out what was going on but she was finally pulled out of her trance and shook his hand.

"Layla." She mumbled back shocked by his forwardness but somehow feeling comfortable in his presence.

He smiled. "Finally we're getting somewhere! Nice to meet you Layla! I'm guessing your signed up for advanced dance as well?"

Layla stifled a laugh as she nodded. "Something like that."

Danny was confused by Layla's reaction to his question but shook it off quickly replacing the confused look with his signature killer smile.

"_Okay_ then. So...I couldn't help but overhear you on the phone. Was that your boyfriend you were talking too?"

Layla flinched at the word boyfriend and her heart lurched, almost bringing tears to her eyes.

Although she was angry with Jason she still couldn't help the way she felt about him and a tiny part at the back of her brain told her that maybe that was the real reason she was angry at Jason. Not because she thought they'd all leave but because she actually believe that they could be together and that he could feel the same way about her. That belief (and her heart) was shattered the second Jason told her they couldn't perform together.

Of course the bigger part of her brain was telling her that Jason was an ass and who was she to argue with the majority? On that reasn alone, almost soon as the tears appeared they were gone.

"No he's not my boyfriend he's just...erm.. he's just.." Layla trailed off, not quite able to explain just what Jason meant to her, she wasn't even sure herself, but Danny seemed to understand and nodded his head sympathetically.

"I get were you're coming from. Been there, done that, got the t shirt. yada yada... Now this is something that you'll be interested in." He said knowingly before taking her gently by the elbow and swiveling her around to look through the window at the group of students scattered around the dance studio. Usually Layla didn't like people she didn't know touching her (most of the time she wasn't even comfortable with those who did know her!) but there was something about Danny that she liked and trusted so she didn't kick up a fuss like usual.

"You see that girl there?" He said pointing to a teenage girl a little bit older than them standing in the corner talking to a group of people. She had long blonde hair that fell around her shoulders and swayed in the breeze when ever she moved even in the slightest. With flawless skin, an amazing body and bright blue eyes Layla couldn't help but feel a little jealous but nodded slowly, confirming that she in fact could see who Danny was talking about.

"Yeah I see her." She muttered darkly and Danny laughed, obviously picking up on the underlying jealously in her voice.

"Well I like her. A lot."

Layla's eyes went wide and she blushed at her own stupidity.

"What?" Danny said looking down and seeing the look on her face.

"Nothing." She said waving his concern off as she pulled herself together.

He scoffed in disbelief.

"Honestly. It's nothing. It's just when you were looking at me and when you came out here I thought.."

Danny's eyes lit up as he realised what she was hinting at and he grinned cockily.

"You thought I was coming out here to hit on you didn't you?"

Layla blushed and he started laughing. The blush quickly disappeared and she scowled at him.

"Not funny!" She snapped and he stopped laughing.

"You're right. You're right." He agreed. "I'm sorry."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. The important thing is... If you like her so much why haven't you asked her out? I mean it's obvious from the little time I've spent with you that you have absolutely no problem when it comes to confidence or people skills so what are you doing out here talking to me when you could be talking to her?"

Danny sucked in a deep breath before turning them back to the window and pointing out the girl again.

" Ah that's the interesting bit! You see the boy standing next to her?" He said leaning down and whispering in Layla's ear. "The one directly on her left? Short gelled up black hair, skinny black jeans and red t shirt?"

It took her a second but she finally singled the guy out from the group surrounding the blonde and nodded.

" Well that's her brother."

"And?" Layla asked, prompting him to continue. So far she found nothing interesting about this and she was starting to get impatient.

_And_...I like him too."

She gasped and took a step back to look at him.

"Seriously?" She said disbelievingly her voice a couple of pitches higher as she looked him up and down, waiting fro him to burst into laughter but nothing happened. "Oh my God you're telling the truth!"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey what can I do?"

"Shit I thought I had it bad fancying my brother's best friend."

"Why what's wrong with him?"

"Nothing he's just Jason Carter, guitarist of Connect 3 and ten years older than me not to mention one of my best friends meaning that if we ever got together he'd probably get beaten up by my brother and my friends and family would all hate me." She said without thinking.

It took her a while to realise what she said and Danny waited patiently until her eyes went wide and she gasped, putting a hand to her mouth in shock before he started laughing.

"Babe it's not gonna suddenly go back just because you covered your mouth."

"Oh my God why did I just say that? I can't believe I just said that? Why did I just tell him that?" She whispered loudly to herself causing Danny to laugh even more.

"Babe..."

"Don't _babe_ me you over sexed maniac!" She snapped before groaning and sitting down on one of the step leading up to the dance studio. "God what have I just done?"

Danny silently sat down next to her and put his hand on her knee.

"Well I think you just told me that you're Shane Gray's little sister and that you're in love with his 27 year old best friend."

"Exactly!" She exclaimed throwing her arms up into the air, frustrated with herself. "Why did I do that!? I haven't even told Mitchie and she's my one of my best friends and my sister in law but I've told you and I've only known you for a couple of minutes!"

"15 actually but who's counting?"

Layla shot him a glare and he sighed.

"Look I dunno why you told me or why I told you. To be honest I've never told anyone anything like that before but I dunno it's just when I saw you I just felt like..._ eugh_! I felt like..."

_"Like I already knew you."_ They both said at the same time before laughing.

Once they finished laughing Danny turned to her with a serious look on his face.

"So you're Layla Gray then?" He asked casually.

She tensed up a little but nodded.

"Yeah I am...well... sort of. Shane my half brother and his father was...You know it's a little complicated. I'll tell you when we've got a little more time."

He nodded understandingly and the conversation's attention turned back onto Danny.

"So what about you? Liking the pretty blonde and her brother...That's quite impressive!"

He smirked. "Well I try my best. I mean I have to live up to my sex crazed manic name don't I?"

Layla rolled her eyes and smacked him across the chest. He yelped in mock pain before chuckling slightly.

"You're not gonna tell anyone about me being related to _you know who_ and liking..."

"_You know who's_ best friend." He finished for her and she nodded.

"Yeah." She said silently looking down at the ground.

"Don't worry about it." He said cheerfully as he lifted her head up so she was looking him in the eyes. "As long as you promise not to tell anyone what I told you. Deal?"

She smiled. "Deal!"

Suddenly before she could do anything he launched himself at her and hugged her so tightly she could hardly breathe. For a split second she didn't know what to do, shocked by this sudden invasion of her private space by a total stranger before she shrugged, finally giving in and hugging him back.

_Hey she'd already told him one of her biggest, darkest secrets and so had he. Nothing was off limits now. Well..._

She laughed a little before sighing in relief and Danny let go, pulling back to look at her quizzically.

"Okay what was that for?"

"Nothing. I'm just a little glad that you came out here because you wanted to be my friend and not because you wanted to get in my pants."

"What makes you think that I don't?" He winked at her and her jaw dropped.

"You're not serious right? Please tell me you're not serious!?"

Danny didn't say anything he just laughed, throwing his head back with the force of it before getting up and dusting himself off.

"Come on." He said holding his hand out for her to take. "The lesson's supposed to start in a couple of minutes and we don't want to get on the instructors bad side."

"I highly doubt that will happen." Layla remarked as she grabbed his hand and yanked herself up, making sure her dress was okay before picking her bag up and following Danny into the studio. He had very graciously gone in before her and left the door open for her to follow.

* * *

As the door slammed shut behind them a few people looked up expecting to see their instructor but returned to whatever they were doing after seeing that it was just two regular campers...or so they thought.

"_So_." Layla asked casually as she placed her bag down on the floor and the two of them started stretching. "What have you heard about this new instructor?"

He shrugged. "Not much apart from she's our age. Apparently she's a here camper too. LJ something I think her name is. My older brother Kieran is a guitar instructor here and he said that he saw her and thought she was totally hot."

Layla's eyebrows rose up in shock at this.

"Really? What does your brother look like again?"

"Erm...he's about the same height as me, in his late twenties, spiky blonde hair...."

"Likes to cause trouble?"

"Yeah how did you know? Have you met him before?" He asked confused.

"Something like that." She muttered before stopping her stretches and starting to rummage around in the bottom of her bag.

That had been the guitar instructor at the back of the room who started the whole debate about the musical jam. Layla had sneaked a quick look at him last night to see what he looked like and couldn't believe that someone as repugnant as him (both personality wise and looks) could be related to someone like Danny.

She made a mental note to herself to make sure that one of the guys was always with her whenever Danny's brother was around that way she could be sure he wouldn't try and make a move. Only an idiot with a death wish would make a remark on how hot she looked or try and hit on her when Shane and the others were around.

Noticing that she'd stopped stretching Danny stopped and turned to stare at her disbelievingly.

"What are you doing? The instructors gonna be here any second and you're messing around looking for something in your bag! I'm telling you now it better be important cos I heard this instructors a bit of a bitch."

Layla stiffened at this and turned around to face him. "Really?"

"Yeah apparently at the end of Opening Jam she totally freaked out on this poor guy for something that happened ages ago. Started screaming at him and everything. Even threw her bag straight at him. Hit him right in the kisser can you believe it? Man I'd hate to get on her bad side I'll tell you that for nothing."

Layla's mouth pressed into a thin line as she tried her best not to glare at him instead she averted her glare and continued searching through her bag. Eventually finding what she was looking for she grabbed the pair of high heeled white shoes and kicked off her flats before quickly replacing them with the heels.

When she finally looked up Danny's eyes were almost popping out of his head and his mouth was wide open a mixture of horror and shock.

"What are you doing? You can't do a dance class in those the instructor will freak!" He whisper shouted at her.

She rolled her eyes and sighed reaching down to grab her bag off the floor and throwing it over her shoulder.

"Stop being such a suck up." She sighed. She'd quickly become bored with this charade and Danny's big mouth. Not to mention his total obliviousness. Anyone else would have put two and two together by now and worked out who she was. "Anyway it's not like it matters. I doubt she'll care."

Danny scoffed. "How would you know?"

Layla didn't say anything instead she just smirked before turning on her heel and swiftly but elegantly made her way across the floor until she was standing directly in the middle. With one last look and Danny she quickly put two fingers to her mouth and let off an ear piercing whistle that caught everybody's attention.

"Hey sorry about that but it was the only way I could think of getting your attention. Now before you start thinking I'm some crazy attention seeking freak I'd better introduce myself. I'm LJ Winters your new Advanced dance instructor."


	20. Chapter 19

**a/n: hey here's the next chapter hope you like it. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Another update should be coming up after this but I've got mock exmas in 3 days that I haven't studied for and a HUGE piece of coursework to do over the holidays so I might not be able to update a lot. Lol I'm really enjoying writing this story so I'll probably be tempted the whole time to write more. Anyway if I don't update before hand I just want to wish a happy holidays to everyone and give you a BIG BIG THANK YOU for reading this story !**

**Disclaimers on other chapters! xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Danny face suddenly went pale and looked like he was going to faint from a mixture of embarrassment and shock any second.

Layla bit her lip to try and stop herself from laughing at his expression before continuing.

"I know that I'm a bit younger than you expected but I assure you this is no joke and I am here to make sure that you all reach your full potential and leave Camp Rock with the skills you need to pursue your dreams."

She saw a couple of people roll her eyes at this and start muttering but shrugged it off. Now she'd actually started she was beginning to find that she was liking this teaching thing.

"Alright, Now the introduction's out of the way it's time to get down to work." She said as she moved across the studio towards the entertainment system and pressing a couple of buttons.

The next thing they knew a projector screen was coming out of the ceiling and a blue screen had appeared in front of them. As the projector started warming Layla started walking around moving various pieces of equipment out of the way and ordering the others to sit down on the floor and look at the screen.

"This." She said as she searched the video for the correct part and cued it up. "Is what you'll be learning for the next 3 weeks."

She pressed play and watched as the classes face slowly began to fall and lose colour. By the time it had finished they were all just staring at the screen blankly that was until someone spoke up then all hell broke lose.

* * *

"There's no way we can learn that!"

"This is advanced dance not a miracle workshop!"

"Who do you think we are professional dancers?"

"We can't do something like that we'll kill ourselves!"

Layla let off another ear piercing whistle and the squabbling stopped.

"Guys! It's only one dance not the whole bloody movie so just chill!" People began to visibly relax but Layla could still tell by their face that they were anxious.

"This is advanced dance people! You_ are_ professionals! You are at the best music and dance camp in the country, possibly in the world and I know for a fact that none of you would have been accepted for this class if you hadn't shown what exceptional dancers you are."

"But there's a difference between being exceptional and dancing like that! They're professionals with professional instructors!" Someone called out from the back of the room.

"Yeah and they're singing! There's no way we can do _that_ and sing at the same time!"

"And what am I chopped liver?" Layla asked with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Me and my partner will guide you through every step and every word of this routine so you don't have to worry about getting it wrong. Believe me after 3 weeks of learning this you'll know it off by heart and even if you don't the chances are you won't even need it after Final Jam."

"Then why are we doing it?" Someone else yelled from the back of the room and others began nodding in agreement.

Layla sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, quickly feeling a headache coming on. Now she knew why Danny's brother and the other campers hated the idea of a new jam. If they were like this now what would they be like when Campfire Jam was going to be announced next week?

"Look you have to do this dance okay! You signed up for advanced dance and this is what it involves. You all know that this camp leads on to bigger things that's why you're here! There are going to be scouts all over this camp just looking for the next big thing and this is exactly what they want to see!

They want to see that you are more than just your voice or what instruments you can play! What they want is to see that you are all round performers who can dominate the stage and dance can help with that. It gives you a sense of timing, a feel for the beat and a connection with music that will help you in the future. The scouts want to see that you can participate well with others as well as shine on your own when it's necessary.

Look, you all know the drill. This class is specifically for those who attend the local performing arts schools so you know exactly how it works. These classes are designed to polish and refine the talent you obviously already possess and you all must want it or you wouldn't be here right now.

If you can can perform this routine and the others you'll learn over the next 5 weeks while showing that you can sing, play guitar, go crazy on the drums whatever... well there's no telling what might happen.

That is why you'll be learning this dance for the next 3 weeks with me and Jason, another dance for the last two weeks and creating your own individual pieces in my solo lessons. It's all designed to make you a better performer so _please _if not for me then for yourselves just _**learn the damn routine!"**_

She finished and took a deep breath to calm herself down before turning and looking at the group of people standing in front of her.

What she saw when she looked up shocked her. Instead of seeing a sea of angry and doubtful faces she was met by looks of confidence and new found respect. Suddenly any hostility the group had had towards this new person who stormed in and told them that they would have to do the impossible was gone replaced with something new. Sure they may not like her that much but what she had just said had really hit home and the fact that she stood up to them on her first day instead of being intimidated by them gave her a sense of respect and belonging within the group that many over instructors had tried (and failed) over many years to achieve. And that was just in her first lesson!

"I don't know about the rest of you." Danny said stepping out of the crowd and flashing her a reassuring smile instantly making Layla feel much better. "But I can't wait to start this dance. What do you say?"

There was a loud choruses of "yeahs" and the classroom erupted into excited chatter.

Danny winked at Layla and she laughed, glad that the class had finally warmed up to the idea and Danny hadn't found it weird still being around her.

Soon the noise had gone down and they were all sitting around waiting for Layla's next instruction.

"Come on LJ we're waiting!" Someone yelled from the middle of the room.

"Yeah we're totally pumped and ready to go!"

"We're gonna kick this routine's ass!"

The whole room started laughing.

"Okay! Okay! I get it and I want to get started too but unfortunately my dance partner has had some car trouble and he's gonna be a little late." The whole class groaned and Layla waited until they'd finished their grumbling before continuing. "So we're gonna watch the clip a couple more times until her arrives. Now would be a great time to take some notes and watch the steps carefully. It will help when it comes to performing the routine later."

The class nodded in agreement and a few people ran off to the back of the room to grab a notepad and pen before returning to the middle and watching the clip intently.

Layla watched it one more time before handing control over to Danny with instructions to play in over again until she got back or until they got bored with it, whatever one came first.

"Why? Where are you going?" He whispered curiously.

She rolled her eyes at his interest.

"I'm just going outside for a while until Jason arrives. I need to clear my head a little. I'll be 5 minutes tops."

He sighed. "Fine go before they realise you've gone and start messing around again. And Layla?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about those things I said about.. you know.."

She smiled. "Don't worry about it I've already forgotten. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Don't forget to restart the clip if I'm not back in time."

He mock saluted her and she laughed before turning on her hell and leaving the room.

* * *

The second she felt the cool breeze on her face and the door slam behind her she let out a huge sigh of relief. The class was great but it was so intense!

They were all so set against the idea of performing this one routine that it had taken all her willpower and strength as well as communication skills to get the point across that she was actually doing this for their benefit not hers. Sure she had picked the dance but only because she knew it would have everything they were looking for.

The particular part she had chosen (after much deliberation and arguing with Jason) had lifts, the perfect mixture of difficult and simples steps as well as singing. It was just as she said. Everything that a University scholarship scout or record label was looking for and it was her job as an instructor to make sure that her students reached their full potential for Camp Rock was no longer just a place to go and have fun with music, for many of these people it let on to bigger and better things.

After Shane's first stint as an instructor at Camp Rock the entertainment world began to notice the talent coming from such an amazing place and within a couple of months offers came pouring in from record labels, TV companies, specialist school etc. In the few years since Camp Rock had grown into a huge phenomenon with most of the artists in today's industry either originating from Camp Rock or the many associations affiliated with it.

That's why it was so important for them to show just what they could do and the best way they could do that was by performing this routine. And it wasn't like they didn't want to do it.

The advanced dance class was among the other advanced classes that had just been set up this year for the sole intention of moving on to further projects. Campers who were involved in the advanced scheme were all members of local performing school who wished to refine their singing, dancing, instrumental and stage skills. They all had to be achieving top grades and willing to go through a series of auditions before their names were put forward.

They were literally the best that the performing arts schools in the surrounding 4 states had to offer and as such these placements at Camp Rock were seen as much more than a camp, they were seen as a way of making it big. The rules set out by the individual school and Camp Rock had ensured that only the best were put forward for the advanced placement scheme. This meant that on top of applying and auditioning at their own school campers also had to have been a camper for at least 2 years and have recommendation from at least two Camp Rock councilors.

It seemed a little too much to Layla but the scheme was fully backed and paid for by various school, colleges, universities and record labels for the sole purpose of providing a course at Camp Rock for people who had more interest in getting into the entertainment and music business.

That's was why she'd been so shocked to hear them all complaining. If she had gone through so much to get into this class she would do ANYTHING that the instructor told her to do. In fact when she thought about it if her school had offered the same opportunity she would have jumped at the chance!They obviously liked dancing or they wouldn't haven't gone through all the trouble so why had they shown resistance to the idea?

She sighed and leaned back against the outside of the cabin trying to shake of the headache that was beginning right behind her eyes. Sure the class had agreed to do the dance but she could still see the uncertainty in their eyes and a part of her told her that of the course of the next couple of hours that uncertainty would only grow and she wasn't sure if she could deal with it.

* * *

"They giving you a hard time in there?"

She looked up and saw Jason peeking around the corner of the cabin, his hands shoved in his jeans pocket looking at her intently.

Layla suddenly stopped slouching against the side of the cabin and straightened out squaring her shoulders as she shot him a cold look of defiance.

"No I'm just taking a break. What it got to do with you anyway? I mean it's not like you care."

The carefree look on Jason's face was soon replaced with one of anger.

"Come on Layla you know that's not true!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever Jason_ I _don't care. You can save your lame excuses for some other girl."

"Oh. My. God! When are you going to get it through your thick skull!" He shouted at her exasperatedly. "I'm not making any excuse I'm trying to tell you the truth!"

Layla didn't say anything she just narrowed her eyes and intensified her glare while clenching and unclenching her fists, fighting to stop herself from punching him right in the face.

_How dare he call her stupid after everything he'd done?!_

"Hey babe you gonna stand there all day or are you gonna come in?"

Layla and Jason's head snapped around to see Danny leaning against the doorway of the cabin much like he had been earlier.

Out of the corner of her eye Layla could see Jason's body tensing out of anger and her started flexing the muscles in his jaw as he stared Danny down. Danny was having none of it and just stared back at him, totally unaffected by the death rays Jason was shooting at him. No doubt he'd probably suffered worse from other insanely jealous guys (and girls).

"Watch who you're calling babe." Jason forced out through gritted teeth as he closed the gap between him and Layla, placing a hand on her arm protectively.

She felt an involuntary shock going up her arm and shuddered from being so close to him before cursing her own stupidity for the second time that day.

_How can you be so stupid Layla? He broke your heart your supposed to be angry with him not wanting him to kiss you! Damn stupid hormones!_

She quickly gathered her thoughts again and any feelings of love or even like for Jason were replaced with burning hatred and a vindictive desire to play with his emotions.

Quickly moving away from him she walked up to Danny and smiled at him seductively hoping that he'd understand. It took him a second but he finally clicked and as Layla saw recognition in his eyes he walked over to her and wrapped an arm possessively around her waist before leaning down to whisper in her ear.

"I'm guessing that the guy and that's you're trying to make him jealous."

Layla didn't say anything she just giggled sweetly and fluttered her eyelashes at him. That was all he needed to know and he chuckled a little before looking over the top of her head giving Jason the once over.

"Not bad. I was never a fan of Connect 3 before but I think I might have just changed my mind. When you're finished with him can I have a go?"

Layla rolled her eyes.

"Down boy." She muttered softly in his ear as she ran a hand through his hair affectionately. "You've already got two on the go your can't afford to be drooling over another."

"Hey who said those two in there were the only ones I was after?" He said cockily and winked at her.

She rolled her eyes again and unwrapped his arm from around her waist before grabbing his hand, intertwining their fingers as she led him back into the cabin.

"Come on lover boy we have a routine to rehearse."

* * *

**A/N: So there it is hope u like it! Next chapter should be up within a couple of minutes as long as nothing goes wrong! TTYL!**

**xoxo**


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: LOL told u I would be updating ASAP. Depending on how long I can consentrate on my revision and coursework this might be the last update for a while. Hope you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

Jason watched the interaction between Layla and this new boy and let off a low growl. Layla had barely said two words to him since yesterday and he knew for a fact that it was her that deflated his tires this morning so why was she being so pally with_ this_ guy?

_Because he didn't piss her off and make her think that he was going to abandon her That's why!_

Jason sighed dejectedly.

No matter how many times he'd apologised and tried to get her to understand she just wasn't having any of it and if her latest reaction was anything to go by it didn't look like she was going to forgive him anytime soon.

He suddenly felt jealousy flooding through his veins when the guy Layla was talking to casually but possessively wrapped his arm around her waist like it belonged there.

He snarled at the guy and felt his blood begin to boil as they openly flirted with each other before walking into the cabin hand in hand.

Jason waited a couple of minutes to calm down before following them in. He knew that Layla felt nothing but contempt and hatred for him at this point but to see her so happy and flirty with another guy so soon after what had happened he couldn't help but feel a little bit angry and the last thing he needed was to act on that anger in front of a group of campers. Plus he was pretty sure that beating a 17 year old boy to death would look kinda bad and would no doubt come with some type of prison time.

Jason was too pretty to last long in jail so gritted his teeth and walked into the dance studio with what he hoped was a calm and reassuring smile.

* * *

"Hey sorry I'm late guys but I'm here now so let's get started."

"Well someone's got a high opinion of themselves." Layla muttered from beside him and Danny bit back a laugh.

Jason glared at them for a second before turning back to the rest of the class.

"So I'm guessing LJ's already told you what we're doing right?" They all nodded in agreement. "Great! So give us a couple of minutes to set up and then we'll start."

"Now would be a great time to get a drink and do any final stretches. Once we start we wont be finishing until the end of the lesson. The next hour is going to be intense."

The campers groaned before quickly running off and going through any preparations they would need for the next 60 minutes while Layla and Jason started setting up.

Layla had already cued up the song at set it on repeat so all they had to do was sort out their microphones. Although this was technically a dance lesson singing was part of the routine and as such they were expected to do both.

That had been another factor when Layla had begged Jason to help her almost a week ago as there were other instructors available but Jason was the only one who had the free time and didn't sound like a dying walrus when ever he tried to sing.

As Jason was more experienced with the whole performing thing he had his microphone set up in next to no time while Layla was still trying to figure out what to do with the bloody thing.

"Damn stupid thing." She muttered as she tried to work out what part was what. "What do we need these stupid things for anyway?! It's a bloody dance lesson for God's sake!"

"We need these things." Jason said quietly, completely catching her by surprise as he came up behind her and gently took the microphone out of her hand. " Because this is more than just a dance lesson and your voice will never reach the people at the back of the room without any help. That's why we have the microphones."

Layla remained silent as Jason quickly fastened the microphone to her dress and plugged it in **(a/n: I have no idea when it comes to microphones and what you have to do so sorry if none of this makes sense!)**. The whole process only took less than a minute and by the time he was finished they were just standing there staring at each other.

"Thanks." Layla said softly breaking eye contact to look at the ground below.

Jason smiled slightly.

"No problem."

Her head snapped up and she fixed him with a fierce glare but it was no where near as bad as the one she had given him earlier.

"This doesn't mean I've forgiven you. Just because I said thank you doesn't mean that you're off the hook! Not by a long shot!"

"I didn't think I would be." He said calmly, after all no one was expecting miracles. Layla was well known for holding grudges. "You ready for this?"

She took a deep breath and nodded yes before walking over to the sound system and pressing a button. The sound of music filled the air and the class turned to look at the scene in front of them.

* * *

Layla took another deep breath before starting.

**Take my hand**

She extended her arm and held out a hand for him to take which her gratefully accepted and gently took in his own, causing shocks to travel up both their arms.

**Take a breath**

Jason took a deep breath and tried not to smile out of complete happiness from being so close to her again.

**Hold me close and take one step**

Jason complied and pulled her closer to his body that she was only a couple of inches away from him and quickly took one step forward desperate to close the space between them. He knew that this would be the closest he was ever likely to her and there was no chance in hell that he was going to waste a second of it. Once this class was over he had no doubt that she would be out of his arms and trying to put as much space between the two of them as humanly possible so he was going to make it last as long as possible.

**Keep your eyes locked on mine**

**And let the music be your guide**

She reached out and stroked the side of his face, causing him to lean into it and look into her beautiful blue eyes before she grabbed his hand and placed it on the middle of her back, almost making him forget his own name let alone the next part of the routine. It soon came back though when she grabbed his other hand and they began performing the same old steps they had learned from Sandy 10 years ago when they both first expressed an interest in ballroom dancing.

_Won't you promise me_

**(Won't you promise me)**

**That you'll never forget**

_We'll keep dancing_

**(To keep dancing)**

_**Where ever we go next**_

_**It's like catching lightening **_

_**The chance of finding someone like you**_

_**It's one in a million **_

_**The chances of feeling the way we do**_

_**And with every step together**_

_**We just keep on getting better**_

_**So can I have this dance? **_

_(Can I have this dance)_

_**Can I have this dance?**_

The other campers gasped in awe as thy watched Jason and Layla move fluidly around the room performing various lifts and steps as they sang in perfect harmony; never missing a step or taking their eyes off each other. As amazing and difficult as they thought it had been when they saw the clip it was nothing compared to this! It was like they were two separate pieces suddenly made whole to create this one perfect dance that was clearly designed just for them and the chemistry between the two was just incredible.

For those who didn't know they thought the connection was purely the love of performing. But for Layla, Jason and Danny who knew the truth it was far more than that. It was a clear sign that these two were destined to do great things together (and not as friends that was for sure).

They continued dancing and a couple of the girls gasped and muttered to themselves when Layla did a pirouette **(a/n: probably not the right word but if you've seen the video you'll get what I mean.)** and jumped into Jason's arms before he twirled her around and placed her back on the ground ready to start dancing again.

**Oooohh**

**No mountain's too high enough**

_**No ocean's too wide**_

_**Cuz together or not our dance wont stop**_

They quickened their pace as they crossed the floor and the steps became more complicated.

**Let it rain _let it pour_**

_**What we have is worth fighting for**_

_**You know I believe that we were meant to beee**_

**Yeahhhh!!!!**

Layla performed the relevant steps and a couple of the girls started muttering and biting their lips again at the prospect of doing it themselves in a couple of minutes. The muttering and uncertainty only increased when they saw her spinning around and soon realised that they too would have to complete the same move in high heels when doing the final performance. A couple of the guys didn't look too sure either about some of the moves but Layla and Jason were too focused on what they were doing and each other to pay any attention.

_**It's like catching lightening**_

_**The chances of finding someone like you**_

Layla ran a hand through his hair before surprising everyone by winking at him cheekily (a gesture that wasn't supposed to be in the routine) and the two separated. They danced around the room separately for a couple of seconds before finally reuniting and carrying on with the routine.

_**It's one in a million**_

_**The chances of feeling the way we do**_

_**And with every step together**_

_**We just keep on getting better**_

_**So can I have this dance? **_

_(Can I have this dance)_

**Can I have this dance?**

The completed the routine with various steps, lifts and (in Layla's case) another pirouette before coming to a complete stop; Layla's arms wrapped around Jason's neck, pressed tightly to him as Jason lent in.

* * *

A loud cough courtesy of Danny snapped them out of it and they pulled apart before bowing and receiving a thunderous applause.

Out of the corner of her eye Layla saw Danny staring at her worriedly and mouthed a thank you at him before going on to explain to the class exactly what would happen.

For the rest of the lesson they separated the girls from the boys and taught them the different moves they would need for the next 3 weeks. Next week they would partner them up and once they were sure they had a a good idea of what was expected they would integrate the song with the dance completing the routine. But for now all they were concerned with was getting a basic understanding of the moves required which was proving to be difficult.

By the end of the class everyone was exhausted and as the campers dragged their bodies out of the cabin none of them (Layla included) didn't think they could make it through the rest of the day.

Once they all left she looked at her watch and realised that she had another 25 minutes until her next class with Jason started so used the opportunity and a nearby wall to collapse to the ground exhausted and groan.

She suddenly felt someone's presence next to her and opened one eye to see a perfectly relaxed Jason standing above her waving a bottle of water in her face.

She sighed but gradually sat up and grabbed the bottle of water of him. Their hands touched again accidentally and Layla felt the sparks travel up her hand again causing her to snap her eyes up and look into Jason's.

Before she even knew what was happening he'd leaned forward and was kissing her so fiercely and so passionately that for a split second she couldn't remember anything except that she was madly and deeply in love with him.

Then it all came flooding back.

The fact that she's told him all her secrets and that in less than a week she'd fallen in love with her brothers best friend...how she had felt when she realised how Shane and the others would be affected by this and finally the way she had felt when he told her that he couldn't do Musical Jam with her.

That final thought felt like a punch to the gut and as realisation came back to her she gasped, breaking away from the kiss and backing away as much as she could before her back hit the cold, hard wall behind her.

"Oh my God I can't believe you just did that!" She whispered, her voice sounding hollow and far away to her own ears as the shock set in. Standing directly in front of her Jason looked like he was in the same state of shock and disbelief except just behind the fear in his eyes was the slightest glimmer of hope and it was this hope that led to him speak up; telling her exactly how he felt.

"I am so sorry Layla I just couldn't help it. It's just that... I like you! I know I shouldn't but I can't help the way I feel and I know you feel the same way too."

Her head snapped up and she glared at him angrily.

"What the hell would you know Jason? You know _NOTHING_!" She hissed angrily.

"You're wrong." He said softly, ignoring the anger in her voice and moving closer to her. "I know everything. I know that every time you look at me your heart races and although you know it's wrong to you can't help but shiver with anticipation whenever I touch you. But that's nothing compared to the sparks you get whenever you touch my hand. God! That feeling!? It's heard to describe... It's like every nerve ending in your body is on fire and dying to get closer to me and when our hands touch it's like they're supposed to be there, Like we're supposed to be there. Together forever."

By the time he'd finished tears were coming to Layla's eyes.

"How do you know all this?" She whispered tearfully, unable to look at him.

"Because that's how I feel whenever I look at you." He whispered quietly. "I know it's only been a couple of days since you've come back and it'll cause trouble in the future but I don't care anymore. I like you Layla. A lot. And no matter how much I fight it that's how I feel and I..."

The next thing Jason knew Layla had closed the gap between the two of them and was kissing him. He wasted no time kissing her back and after a couple of minutes he finally felt Layla pulling away, a smile gracing her lips as she did.

"You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." She murmured happily against his lips.

Jason chuckled. "Oh believe me I think I do."

"Oh really? I think now is the prefect time fro you to show me just what I've been waiting for." She said cheekily and smirked at him.

"Oh well if you insist."

He leaned in to kiss her again when he caught the time on the clock behind her and swore before grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the room, grabbing their stuff as he shut the studio door behind them.

"What are you doing? I thought you were going to show me how much you wanted me?" She whined, trailing behind him as he dragged them down the cabin stairs.

"Maybe another time. Right now we have a guitar lesson on the other side of the camp to get to that starts in 15 minutes."

She nodded in understanding before wriggling her hand out of his and taking off at speed.

"Layla what are you doing?!"

"I'm running duh!" She yelled back, smiling happily at him. "First one there's the winner!"

Jason sighed and rolled his eyes at her childish competitiveness. "I'm not going to race you Layla."

She suddenly stopped in her tracks and raced back to him, stopping just short and leaning over to whisper in his ear.

"You will if you ever want to kiss me again."

Before she knew it Jason had taken off and was racing far in front of her. She shook her head and laughed before running after him heading in the direction of the music cabin.

* * *

"Oh my God." Jason gasped as he collapsed on a chair in the cabin, gasping for breath as Layla handed him a bottle of water. "I am never running like that again!"

She rolled her eyes as she sat down next to him. "Don't be such a baby! That was nothing I could do that in my sleep."

He looked at her incredulously. They had run flat out for 5 minutes straight across the camp site and she didn't even look like she'd worked up a sweat. Jason on the other hand was close to hyperventilating and covered in sweat.

Layla giggled. "God for someone who jumps around a lot on stage you are really unfit."

His eyes darkened as he glared at her.

"Hey I'm not unfit I'm just not a good runner okay."

Layla scoffed and Jason's glare darkened even more.

"Hey not everyone's a good runner as you!" He snapped defensively.

"I'm not a good runner I've just got longer legs than you."

"That's a load of bull and you know it! You're a good runner Layla otherwise how would you have been able to overtake me although I was way in front of you?"

She rolled her eyes at his attempt to compliment her and Jason gave up, knowing he was getting no where fast. Layla wasn't exactly the best at receiving compliments so he used his energy on trying not to collapse before the lesson began instead of trying to make her feel better about herself.

There was a lapse in conversation for a second before Layla broke it.

"So when are you guys gonna start practicing for Musical Jam? I'd love to hear the song you've written."

Jason tensed up and sat up straight in his chair, his face turning pale as he started to stutter.

"Well. Erm. Well..."

Layla narrowed her eyes at him and he stuttered more.

"Well. You see erm.. Oh look a woodpecker!" He shouted and raced towards the window trying his best to search for his imaginary woodpecker in an attempt to divert her attention. Behind him Layla gasped and got up following him, her face contorted in anger. he hadn't fallen for his diversion and had quickly worked out what was going on.

"You lied to me!" She yelled shaking furiously as she pointed at him angrily. "You don't have anything planned with them do you? You just made that up as an excuse not to perform with me! you saw how upset I was getting and couldn't stand to be the bad guy so you came up some lame ass excuse to cover your own backside!"

Jason opened his mouth to say something but thought better of it when he saw how angry she was. Anything he said now would only land him in more trouble so he kept his mouth shut as Layla continued ranting and raving. When she finally stopped for breath and looked less pissed off he finally spoke up.

"You finished now?"

She turned and glared at him with such a look of anger and hatred that it caused Jason to flinch back in pain.

_Whoops! Definitely _not _the right thing to say!_

"Finished?! _Finished! _Jason you lied to me! You told me that you were doing something with the guys that's why you couldn't do anything with me!"

"Hey!" He shouted back defensively. "I didn't lie."

Layla shot him a disbelieving look and any bravado he had quickly disappeared.

"Okay maybe I did lie. But it doesn't mean you can go all crazy on me." He added hastily.

"Jase. You lied! You told me a lie and don't even try and give me that "I didn't lie" bull crap again. I can see it on your face that you're lying!"

"So what I lied! I admit it! What do you want from me!?" Jason snapped.

He was starting to get more than a little annoyed and angry with the way she'd been shouting at him over the last couple of days. Sure he probably deserved it but it didn't mean he liked it and technically if anyone should be shouting right now it should be him. After all she had punctured his front tires and those were expensive to replace-especially when you had to get a mechanic to drive up to the middle of nowhere and tow the car back to his garage.

"I want the truth!" She yelled back at him and he suddenly went still. Any anger he had before disappeared as he sighed dejectedly and leaded against the window, trying his best not to look at her as he answered.

"I can't do that." He whispered painfully as he closed his eyes and leaned against the cool glass of the cabin's huge windows.

"But why? Why can't you tell me Jason? What is it? Why can't you..."

"I JUST CAN'T OKAY! BACK OFF!" He yelled instantly regretting it when he saw the look on Layla's face. It was like a blank slate, no emotion, no feeling nothing except the slightest hint of hurt and anger along with the vacant, mysterious stare which sent shivers down everyone's spine.

"Fine." She said curtly, backing away and putting as much space between them as she could.

"Aww come on Layla I'm sorry! I didn't mean to snap at you. I don't want you to go it's just..."

"You can't tell me right." She snapped and he nodded sadly. "Well I've got something to tell you. Until you tell me why you pulled out of doing Musical jam with me, whatever_ this _is -is over."

"WHAT! Layla no.." Jason tried to persuade her but she refused to listen, backing away further as he tried to reach out for her.

"No I won't listen to your excuses anymore. You have a choice Jason. Either you tell me now or we're over."

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? The song Layla and Jason performed is Can I have this Dance from HSM3. If I've got time I'll try and put the video up for this and the other songs so far on my profile within the next couple of days for those who want to see them.**

**Thanks for reading!!! love Laylora xoxo **

**:):):):):)**


	22. AN Stupid Virus!

**Hey I'm sorry but this isn't an update!**

**Unfortunately I infected my computer with that microsoft spyware guard thing (whatever it is!) and now my computer is really messed up which really sucks because I had serious writer's block and was just starting to get out of it when everything went wrong!**

**Anyway this means that until I can uninfect my computer or start the next chapter from the beginning and find another way to upload it I won't be able to update for a while.**

**Sorry!**

**Hope you had a happy holidays and Happy New Year!**

**Gem :):):):)**


	23. Chapter 21

**Hey I'm back and my computer's fixed so nothing cans top me now! well... apart from college and HSM3 Dance but I'm just so excited that I got my computer back! Lol anyway I hope you like this chapter . Out of the 7 versions I have written this is the best version - Well I think anyway! The others kinda got a little out of hand. So I better get on with it. Love to know what you think of it and thanks for waiting for so long and understanding!**

**Hope you enjoy it and it was worth the wait! xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

"Come on Layla! I'm not sure how much more of this I can take!" Jason moaned as he trudged around the kitchen following her like a sad little puppy. He even had the face and eyes to match. "It's been weeks! Can't you just stop it now? Please?!"

She rolled her eyes at him, ignoring his plea as she reached up and started taking stuff out of the cupboard just above her head cursing under her breath at the person who designed this kitchen who (obviously from where they'd placed the shelves) wasn't very accommodating to anyone under 7 foot tall.

Like usual she and Jason had been up well before the others and were stuck with making tea and coffee for those who had just crawled out of their beds, half asleep and looking like the back end of a horse (cough _Shane_ cough). She allotted the appropriate hot drinks to their mugs before flicking on the kettle and turning to face him.

"Jason." Layla said as calmly as possible before she headed towards the fridge to hunt down the last bottle of milk. Finally finding it she shuffled back out careful not to hit her head on the shelf like yesterday, slammed the door shut an turned around to look at him pointedly. "It's been 4 days. Stop exaggerating!"

"But it feels like weeks!" He groaned painfully, collapsing down on the kitchen chair and throwing his head down on the table heavily. "You can't just kiss me and leave me hangin' like that! I'm going crazy here!"

She rolled her eyes again before smacking him around the back of the head causing him to jump up in his seat and glare at her as he rubbed the back if his now sore head.

"Oh don't you glare at me like that!" She snapped as she plonked the now full cup of tea in front of him before taking a sip of her own hot chocolate, sighing with relief as the sweet taste hit the back of her throat making all her problems melt away-even if it was for a couple of seconds.

"You hit me! And you stopped kissing me or being nice to me! AT ALL! You won't even go bird watching with me! That's like torture!"

She narrowed her eyes at him, suddenly brought out of her chocolate daydream and Jason quickly shut his mouth to take a huge gulp of scolding hot tea before he could open it again and land himself in even more trouble.

The second he tasted it it took all his strength to stop himself from gagging. If there was one thing Jason really hated in the world it was blackcurrants and here he was choking on a steaming hot mug of blackcurrant tea. He could feel his mouth burning and wanted to yell out in pain and disgust but he knew that this was way better than what Layla would do to him if he kept on talking.

Eventually he was forced to swallow and as the liquid made its way down his throat and he visibly shuddered, glaring at Layla's half hidden smirk as he raced to the other side of the kitchen and quickly stuck his head under the tap.

"You know exactly why Jason and I'm not going back on my word. You made the decision and now you have to live with the consequences." She said defiantly once she'd stopped smirking and Jason had successfully got the taste out of his mouth by sticking his head under the cold water tap for the best part of 5 minutes.

It took him a while to figure out what she was talking about but but finally realisation dawned and he groaned in annoyance whacking his head off the bottom of the tap as he turned to look at her.

"Is that was this has all been about? The pointed looks, the distance, everything...because I wouldn't tell you why I _lied_?!"

The look on her face told him that he was right and he stared at her incredulously before finally letting his anger get the better of him.

"Damn it Layla! This is ridiculous! I said I was sorry for lying to you like a million times already!"

"I know and I believe you." She said with a tone of fake calmness which would have made Jason shudder in fear if he hadn't heard the truth behind it and wasn't so annoyed.

"But you haven't told me _why_! I told you if you didn't tell me the truth that what we had was over whether it was friendship or anything else. You chose to keep your secret and now I'm keeping up my end of the bargain . So that means no being nice, no bird watching and definitely NO KISSING!"

"Okay so now what?! You're just gonna ignore me? Cos if you are- let me tell you now... you suck at it!" He hissed as he started pacing the room angrily. "God Layla! What's your problem?!"

She watched him open mouthed with shock for a second before the red mist descended and she leaped out of her chair and began following him around the room, shaking furiously with pent up anger and frustration.

"Oh hell no! You better not be getting angry at me!" She screamed as she reached out, yanking his arm fiercely, forcing him to come to a standstill; leaving him no choice but to look at her. "I told you what would happen! I fucking_ told_ you! But _you_ still went through with it so don't you _dare_ blame this on me!"

His eyes flashed and his jaw tightened angrily as he stared at a spot just above her head, not quite trusting himself to look her in the eyes for both their sakes.

"So what?! You're gonna hold that against me...against **us**! That afternoon was _amazing_ until you went and messed it all up with your stupid little hang ups! How many times do I have to say it?! I CAN'T TELL YOU! SO GIVE UP ALREADY COS IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN!"

"AND WHEN ARE YOU GONNA GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD! I'M NOT GONNA GIVE UP!" Layla yelled back, getting right in his face.

She was so close that she could feel his laboured breath on her face and the angry heat radiating off his body which only made her angrier. If it had been any other time they would probably start making out right there and then but they were both so angry that neither one paid much attention to how close they we're to each other, both were just concentrating on trying to stare the other one down without ripping the other to shreds with their bare hands.

The tension in the room was almost unbearable and eventually Jason had no choice but to relent. Angrily he pulled away, storming across the room(furthest away from Layla) towards the sink and clutched the worktop tightly in an attempt to control his temper.

God he'd never been so angry in his life! And not only with Layla but with also with himself. If he had just been honest none of this would have happened but he lied and now it just wasn't him he had to protect- it everyone else too.

If Layla ever found out that Shane and Nate had something to do with him changing his mind she would freak and so would the others. Knowing how dramatic his friends and family could be he knew that they'd be lucky if they were still married and possessed all their body parts by the time they left Camp Rock. He just couldn't do that to them so if he had to suffer...it was just the price her would have to pay. No matter how painful.

He groaned as he leaned his head against the cool granite of the worktop, enjoying the feeling of the heat off his face being cooled down by the cold, hard stone beneath it. Why couldn't things be easy for once? If his friends weren't involved he would've told Layla in a heartbeat. But they were involved whether they meant to or not and now... and now...

"God Layla!" He hissed as his blood began to boil with anger after his latest train of thought.

Suddenly he pushed himself away from the counter and stared at her furiously. "What is it with you Gray's?! You can never let anything go even if it's for your own good!"

Layla tensed and her eyes narrowed to a point where they looked like they were almost closed.

It was then Jason knew that he had pushed her too far and any anger he had in his body was soon replaced with fear as she began advancing on him, much like a lion would do right before it went in for the kill. He gulped loudly and quickly began moving away.

"Let's get some things straight right now shall we?" She said through gritted teeth as she inched her way closer causing Jason to sweat from the look of pure anger on her face. You know the saying if looks could kill? Well... Jason would be 6 feet under by now.

"First of all I am not and never will be a Gray. Shane-yes, me-no. As much as you and Shane and all the others might want to think I am-I'm not and I never will be. You got it?"

Jason knew better than to say anything or do anything so just stayed still, not even daring to breathe as she continued her tirade.

"Secondly. I may not be a Gray but anyone with any common sense or even a **BRAIN** would know not to trust someone who continuously lied to them even if they didn't mean it. Especially if said liar couldn't even be bothered to waste their time telling them why! Do you wanna know what else?"

He squeaked nervously in reply as he realised that she'd worked him into a corner; forcing him to come to a complete stop while she kept on coming forward.

A smile started pulling at the corners of her mouth and she licked her lips slowly and seductively knowing instinctively what it would do to him, before closing the little space left between them in a heartbeat. She waited until she was close enough that she was pressed tightly into his chest before standing up on her tippy toes and looking him right in the eye.

Slowly her eyes dropped from his and she licked her lips again before moving so that her mouth was hovering just in front of his. She felt his breath hitch a little as she gently moved from his mouth up to his ear, her lips briefly ghosting across his face as she went, sending noticeable shivers down Jason's spine.

Smirking she quickly snaked one arm around the back of Jason's neck and began playing with his hair, running her hands through it; causing his breath to hitch yet again and his eyes to involuntarily close.

"After those amazing, _hot_, _steamy_, _passionate_ kisses we shared the other day." She whispered seductively, enjoying the way each word seemed to increase the heat coming of Jason's skin (and his heart rate) as her breath touched his skin. "There's one thing I'm certain about."

"W-What?" He stuttered once his brain started working again. God! He'd never been more attracted to someone in his whole life. Tanya Logan was nothing compared to the way Layla made him feel!

She giggled teasingly in his ear causing Jason to bite his lip in an attempt not to groan in desire before answering.

"I am certain that I will...never _ever_kiss a lying selfish disgusting bastard like you ever again!" She yelled before flinging herself away from him and storming off to the other side of the room, leaving Jason standing there, his mouth wide open and totally speechless. It wasn't until she had grabbed the tray with everyone's (now cold) drinks on it and headed for the door that he finally realised what had happened and went after her. Without thinking he chased her out of the room and down the hallway grabbing her arm just as she reached the front room.

* * *

Not knowing that she was being followed the sharp pull on her arm shocked the life out of her and Layla gasped as she dropped the tray causing the contents of all the mugs varying in type and temperature to go everywhere but mostly...on Layla and her brand new clothes.

Jason's eyes widened and his face went white as a piercing scream, much worse than any he'd heard in his entire life, came from Layla's lips.

Slowly she turned around to look at him, her eyes full of fury and her nostrils flaring angrily as she tried to shake a section of tea soaked blue streaked hair out of her eyes. He took one look at her, completely drenched from head to toe in various liquids, and started running. Obviously he wasn't fast enough as the next thing her knew he was down on the ground, the wind completely knocked out of him and gasping for breath. Layla had tackled him to the ground and was now attempting to claw his face off with her bare hands, screaming like a banshee.

"I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ASS YOU STUPID PIECE OF SHIT!" She screamed manically as she continued to try and scratch him to death. She probably would have succeeded if her screams hadn't been loud enough to cause the others to come flooding into the hallway to stare at the sight in front of them.

Luckily for Jason she didn't get too far because after a couple of shocked seconds of gawking Nate and Shane finally sprung into action pulling a hysterical Layla off him before dragging her to the other end of the room, kicking and screaming out in protest.

She tried her best to get away from them but they held firm, waiting until Jason had got off the ground and Mitchie and Caitlyn were acting as buffers between the two before letting her go. Even then with four people blocking her from Jason she still tried to get past them, cursing wildly as she made numerous painful and interesting threats on Jason's life making all of them wince in pain not only Jason.

" Damn it Layla would you just stop it! Jeez why have you always been soo...Oh my God _what did you do_?!" Shane exclaimed once he saw the state she was in, instantly pulling away from her and checking to make sure he too wasn't covered in mess from grabbing her so tightly. Ocne he was sure his designer clothes had escaped unscathed he turned his attention back to his extremely messy little sister.

"He did!" She screamed as she continued to try and get past them eventually finding a gap only to be yanked back at the last minute by Nate.

"He happened to me! This stupid jerk off grabbed my arm and sent that" she said pointing to the mess of broken mugs and liquid sprawled across the hallway floor. " all over me! This outfit's _ruined_!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Jason and glared at him before returning their attention to Layla who had now stopped struggling against Nate's hold but was still being blocked by Shane, Mitchie and Caitlyn just in case she decided to make another mad dash for Jason. Once she'd stopped moving long enough for Mitchie to have a proper look at her it took Caitlyn a second to take in the sight in front of her before she let out a horrified gasp.

"Oh my God! That's the outfit that Tess got you yesterday!" She shrieked hysterically causing Mitchie to gasp in horror as she realised the sudden severity of the situation.

Leaning closer Mitchie took a closer look at what she was wearing and suddenly her eyes went wide with shock and pure fear for what was about to come.

The white halter neck dress Layla was wearing had been flawless when she and Tess had returned from their shopping trip 2 days ago and Mitchie had never felt happier for her sister in law when she saw how happy she was when she was wearing it. The dress was perfect for her. A pure shocking white that made the blue in her eyes and highlights stand out more than usual and hugged her in just the right places to show off her body in the best way possible. Classy but fun and sexy at the same time. Totally inappropriate for any other camp but summed up Camp Rock, Tess and Layla all in one dress. In short she looked gorgeous and the shoes...Oh God _the shoes_!

Mitchie took one last look at the dress and shoes now ruined beyond repair from various sticky and colourful stains thanks to Jason and their varying tastes in morning beverages, before hurriedly doing the sign of the cross. She shot Jason a fleeting look of sadness and shook her head at him slightly in sympathy.

Jason watched her suspiciously as she made her way from the centre of the room and hugged him tightly. He shot Shane a worried glance over her shoulder and he shrugged. Looking across he saw Nate doing the same thing and realised that none of them had a clue what was going on apart from Caitlyn and Layla who just continued to shot him a look of utter disdain. He gulped painfully.

This wasn't good.

"It was nice knowing you." She whispered quietly in his ear before pulling away and looking at his face sadly one last time before walking away. That only made him more nervous and Jason couldn't help but shiver slightly as she sent one last sympathetic look in his direction before running off into the kitchen to answer the phone.

* * *

"Okay would one of you two like to explain to us what that was about?" Nate asked uneasily, dreading the answer already knowing if it had anything to do with Tess and both Mitchie and Caitlyn thought it was bad it was bound to be disastrous.

"Tess bought me this outfit yesterday as a gift." Layla said through gritted teeth as she finally managed to shake herself free of the Nate's shocked hands and walked over to Caitlyn, both of them standing next to each other and staring at Jason madly as the face of the members of Connect 3 slowly turned whiter than they'd ever seen them before.

"By bought you mean over the internet or from a catalogue right?" Jason said hopefully.

They shook their heads slowly but determinedly.

"Sent someone else out to get it?" Nate added, a strong sense of deperation in his voice which clearly stated that he was grasping at straws, looking for a way to get Jason off the hook. Nate looked out of the corner of his eye and saw his brother staring despondently into the distance while Shane was quietly muttering to himself in the corner of the room.

They shook their heads again and Nate groaned painfully, before bringing a hand to his head and banging it slightly. A flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye caught Nate's attention as he stuck his hand out just in time to grab Shane by the collar and stop him from throttling Jason for in his word "raining hell and fire down on us all".

"She went out herself and got them didn't she?" Jason said robotically never taking his eyes off the wall in front of him as Shane started muttering darkly about something involving Tess and the devil.

"Yep. Took me out personally. Said that I deserved something special after everything I've been through the last couple of days-even got her limo to come pick us up."

Shane and Nate's eyes went wide and they whimpered painfully at the mention of the words "personally" and "limo".

It was no secret that Tess was a bitch. She didn't do anything for anyone unless she really _really_liked them. Even now after being friends with them for 5 years she rarely remembered to buy birthday presents let alone any other type of gift and even then it was never done in person-always over the internet or by sending someone else (usually one of her many minions) to go search for it.

The fact that she not only decided to buy this impromptu gift for Layla personally in her limo (aka her most PRIZED POSSESSION) after knowing her for less than a month showed just how highly she thought of and liked Layla.

That point alone was enough for Jason to fear his life and for the other members of Connect 3 to cower in fear of what was to come as everyone knew that they were a package deal and when one got in trouble they all did and this was _SERIOUS_ trouble.

When it came to fashion Tess and Ella were fierce but out of the two of them Tess was -by far- the worst and she didn't take any prisoners. If... no - _when_- she found out that Layla's dress was ruined she was going to freak-big time and the first people she'd go to would be Connect 3.

"It's vintage Chanel!" Layla added seriously and all hell broke loose. **(AN: I don't really know fashion type stuff so sorry if I've got this wrong:P )**

* * *

"Oh my God we're gonna die!" Jason kept screaming over and over as he began running around the hallway like a headless chicken, blindly running into walls and tripping over his own feet in an attempt to escape but always ending up where he started as he kept running in circles.

This fact only made him more hysterical as each attempt to escape from his imminent death only ended in him facing the same wall he had been staring at a couple of seconds ago.

Nate and Shane were on the verge of a full break down before Layla even mentioned the dreaded words "vintage Chanel" completely lost it and joined Jason in running around blindly in an attempt to avoid their immediate death.

Caitlyn and Layla just watched on in morbid fascination and amusement as they revelled in Jason, Shane and Nate's stupid, irrational fear of Tess.

Sure she was going to be pissed but not to the point of killing them...well Jason maybe but then again it kinda was his fault.

* * *

When Mitchie came back 5 minutes later, the phone pressed to her left ear, chatting away to someone on the other end of the line, she almost dropped the phone in shock at the sight of them.

Layla and Caitlyn were standing in once corner trying their best not to break into hysterical laugher while Jason, Nate and Shane were all running sporadically around the place making their own deals with God to spare them. Shane even went as far to say that if he spared him from Tess he'd give up drink and become a monk living off only kippers and month old crackers which started a tidal wave of various pleas from the rest of Connect 3.

* * *

"Urr..Sorry I have to go-I'll call you back." Mitchie said dumbstruck by the sight in front of her she slowly took the phone away from her ear and hung up. She took a minute to take in the scene before her and clear her thoughts before screaming at the top of her lungs.

"HEY! HEY! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" She yelled feeling more like their mother at this moment than Shane's wife and their friend as they suddenly stopped and stared at her sheepishly.

"What the _hell _is going on here?"

Suddenly they all started talking at the same time, trying to be the first ones to get their point of view across before the others but all that Mitchie heard was the beginnings of a headache.

"You know what I don't know why I even asked. It's bound to be something stupid and petty over this thing with Tess right?"

They all looked at her like she'd suggested that they all go outside and run around naked (not that they hadn't done it before but that was a dare and didn't technically count if they couldn't remember it without the help of Hot Tunes TV and a couple of citations).

"Stupid and petty?" Shane gasped appallingly at her statement. " Mitch. This is Tess Tyler. You know the bitch who ruined you're first summer here? Hell she might be sweet and innocent some of the time but scratch beneath the surface and **BAM**!..."

"**_Super bitch!_**" Shane, Nate and Jason stated at the same time.

Caitlyn rolled her eyes at them and turned to stand next to Mitchie.

"Oh come on stop over exaggerating! Tess is alright when you get to know her."

Connect 3 visibly flinched and recoiled from her like she had just been dipped in radioactive waste.

"You've gone mad." Nate stated simply shaking his head in disbelief. "You've both gone bloody mad that's the only explanation for it... She's alright when you get to know her.. You're crazy."

Jason and Shane nodded in agreement while Layla, Mitchie and Caitlyn just rolled their eyes at the boys stupidity.

"Whatever." Mitchie mumbled keen to get off the subject of their sanity and on to the matter at hand. "Right now Tess Tyler's the least of our problems. Brown just called. He needs us all at Camp Rock in 30 minutes."

Everyone turned to look at her confused.

"What? Why? It's only 7:30 classes don't start until 9. What would he want with us?"

Mitchie shrugged.

"I dunno why but what I do know is it must be something important. He sounded a little tense and it's not just us he's calling in. It's everyone."

Caitlyn bit her lip nervously before looking at the others who were doing the exact same thing. Well everyone except for Shane who was currently staring into space, his eyes clouded over slightly-a clear sign that he was thinking about something.

"Fine. Here's what we do." Shane said finally snapping out of his trance and causing the others to turn to him expectantly. "Layla go get cleaned up. Mitchie go with her and find something else for her to wear. Make sure the dress and the shoes are well hidden. Put them in our room or something. Just make sure that Tess doesn't find them before we have a chance to work something else out."

Mitchie and Layla nodded solemnly before rushing off down the hall. Shane quickly turned to the others who were waiting expectantly and looked at Caitlyn.

"Cait. Go to Tess' cabin and tell them what's going on. Whatever you do **DO NOT** let her or Ella come over. Beg if you have to just make sure they stay away from here until we have the clothes well hidden then we'll call you."

Caitlyn gave him a mock salute before turning on her heel and running towards the front door, halting suddenly as she turned around to stare at them, as confused look on her face.

"Wait what are you three going to do?"

Shane's eyes tightened and he turned to look at Jason pointedly.

"It's time we have a little chat with the Bird man."


	24. Chapter 22

**a/n: Here's chapter 22. Hope you like it thanks for reading and reviewing.**

**Like usual I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I've created and the plot. **

**Thanks :) xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 22

Shane and Nate had waited and grand total of 30 seconds after they heard Caitlyn leave and the shower turn on in Layla's bathroom before grabbing an arm each and dragging Jason out to the shed.

"Oh come on not this again!" He groaned as they pushed him into the chair heavily and slammed the shed door behind them. "What are you going to do this time? Shine a pen light in my eyes? Oh I know! You're gonna beat the truth out of me with a mini spade aren't you?!"

Shane narrowed his eyes at him and Nate as the two started started grinning at Jason's way of lightening the situation. Nate quickly stopped smirking through when Shane whacked him around the back of his head with the back of his hand. It didn't hurt him but the action brought Nate back to reality and he quickly remembered why he was here as he turned to face Jason with a piercing look.

"Ha Ha. Very funny." Shane snapped sarcastically before grabbing another chair and sitting down to face him straight in the eye. "I want to know everything that happened right now."

Jason looked at them for a second before sighing.

"Fine. Fine. I'll tell you......"

Shane and Nate leaned in expectantly as Jason lowered his voice slightly before answering.

" I tried to stop that gnome from stealing the cookies but you know what they're like! Their just so fast I couldn't keep up with him! And I swear he's got some type of deal going on with that worm at the bottom of the garden I mean how else could he g-g-ge..."

The look of confusion on Shane and Nate's faces was just too much for Jason and he couldn't go on.

Suddenly he burst out laughing which only got worse when Shane's face slowly turned from confusion to anger as he realised what Jason was doing.

"This isn't the time to play games! Something's going on between you and Layla and it's only getting worse. I want to know what and I want to know now!" He snapped at him but Jason wasn't paying any attention he was too busy rolling around in his seat at Nate's expression.

* * *

Unlike Shane, Nate hadn't caught on that Jason was trying to wind them up and was silently mumbling to himself, a look of pure concentration on his face as he continued to go over what Jason was saying, trying to make sense of it.

Suddenly the confusion cleared of his face and his eyes brightened with excitement before he turned to them a big smile spread across his face.

"Oh I got it!" He clapped excitedly before his face fell again and he gasped out of shock and horror as his mouth formed an "o" shape at what he just discovered. "Oh my God! The Gnomes and Wiggly Woo are working together! What are we going to do?!"

Jason suddenly stopped laughing and he and Shane turned to look at him with a worried look on their faces. He stared back at them intently, half confused about why they were staring at him and half concerned about the new underworld garden criminal ring he'd uncovered.

"What?!" He yelled exasperatedly. "There's a worm/gnome cookie racket going on here we have to do something!"

Shane shook his head at him sadly while Jason continued to watch his brother with worried eyes.

"How you two can be related to a member of MENSA when there isn't two fully functioning brain cells between the two of you I don't know." Shane sighed as he turned away from the youngest member of the band (who by this time had worked out what was going on and was turning bright red at his own stupidity) and turned his attention back to Jason.

Jason just shrugged at him and shot him an _I-don't-know_ type of look.

"Don't look at me." He said loudly, hands raised in defence. "I dunno why Sandy got all the brains."

"Ah!" Nate exclaimed in a matter-of-fact way once he'd stopped blushing and took the chair next to Shane; the three of them sat facing each other in a tight knit circle as the conversation moved on to the subject of his older sister. "She might have got all the brains but _we_ got all the talent."

All three of them nodded in agreement.

Sandy, Nate and Jason's older sister, was an amazing woman who could do anything she wanted to do once she set her mind on it... Well anything academic. They rarely had to worry when it came to homework as by the time they became bogged down by high school- Maths, Physics, English etc- Sandy had been a high school teacher for many years and knew the work they'd been set like the back of her hand (mostly because for two subjects at least she was Jason and Shane's teacher and later Connect 3's tutor while on tour).

This meant that when they were younger Sandy was always helping them with their homework and whether it was tutoring or the occasional time where she might take pity on them (usually Shane when he was looking after his mum and Layla) and actually give them the answers, they were always safe in the knowledge that it was 100% correct. Sandra Alexa Carter was in one word: AMAZING.

But.... she couldn't play a musical instrument to save her life.

* * *

Nate suddenly snorted and they turned to look at each him again, wondering what caused the sudden outburst.

"Do you remember that time we tried to teach her how to play the guitar?"

Jason and Shane's faces clouded over for a second as they relived the memory before a wide smile spread across their faces as they tried to contain their laughter.

"How the hell did she manage to break all the strings on it in less than a minute?!"

Nate looked at Shane incredulously at this statement before chuckling slightly.

"That's what you're worried about?! She threw it out of the window! It landed on our car-completely busted the wind shield!"

"Hey that wasn't _our_ car. It was **MY** car!" Jason shouted in mock anger.

Nate just shrugged. "Same thing. I mean we were both using it."

"That's because you were only 10! It was either go with me or ride the city bus with Layla and Sandy to school."

Nate's face clouded over for a second before he started smiling sheepishly.

"Oh yeah I remember now. But why wouldn't Layla go with us? I mean who would rather take a bus than a car to school?"

"Because someone" Jason said pointedly, glazing at Shane who was biting his lip in an attempt to stop himself from laughing. "Tried to convince you and Layla one night that little kids who rode on the bus were eaten by huge mutant bunnies from outer space and you being the big doofus you are believed him!"

Shane couldn't contain it any longer and burst out laughing causing Jason to glare at him menacingly. This only made Shane laugh louder as Jason wasn't exactly the best at being menacining and to Shane he looked more like he was constipated than angry which really didn't scare him (or anyone) in the slightest.

"Hey you find it funny but believe me,_ this_" Jason waved his hand at Nate who was currently shivering in his chair at the thought of buses. "is not fun to live with. Or share a room. Do you know how long it took him to sleep through the night without screaming about mutant bunnies?! I didn't get a good night's sleep for months! Me and Sandy were ready to kill you if Layla hadn't come over and told us that we were big meanie bo beanies."

This got Nate's attention and he snapped out of his nightmare to glare at his big brother.

"Wait?! So you were about to kick his ass for mentally scaring me for life and the only thing that stopped was a _girl_ calling you a _meanie bo beanie_!"

Jason shrugged.

"Hey it was Layla. What was I supposed to do?"

Nate growled at this but no one was paying attention so he just went back to sulking in the corner while suppressing the niggling memory at the back of his mind of killer bunnies.

None of this though bothered Shane in the slightest. He just kept on laughing at the memory of the trouble he had caused his friends all those years ago.

"God not even Layla fell for that and she was 6!" Shane chuckled once he'd finally stopped laughing enough to get a full sentence out without cracking up again.

Nate's eyes went wide as he suddenly remembered the event that his acute fear of buses had stemmed from and he turned to Shane shaking with fury.

"That was your fault?! I had to go through 4 years of therapy and hypnotherapy to find out why just so I could get on a tour bus without freaking out! Even now I can't stay on the bloody thing on my own! You owe me..._**big time**_!"

"What?! It's not my fault that you're so easy to manipulate." Shane said innocently before starting to laugh again. "Damn I must be a good story teller though if you still get creeped out 11 years later. I'm kinda proud of myself!"

Jason still glared at him but now a slight smirk was pulling the corner of his mouth at the mischievous look on Shane's face.

Nate just growled and folded his arms across his chest stubbornly, not liking that he'd suddenly become the object of such ridicule. They'd only been in the shed ten minutes and so far he'd been made an idiot out of twice!

Quickly he turned the attention back to the reason why they were sitting out in this cold, dank shed and everyone went quiet as Jason leaned back in his chair, sighing heavily as ran his hands through his hair anxiously.

In one swift movement he removed his hands from his hair and launched himself forward so that they were all huddled up together leaning in to try and hear what he was going to say like it was some big secret.

"Layla knows that I lied to her about not being able to do Final Jam."

* * *

Shane and Nate hissed painfully and recoiled from him like they'd been burned before quickly looking over their shoulder to check that none had crept in and had been hovering over their shoulder who might have heard what he said.

"Does she know that we had anything to do with it?" Shane asked shakily as the colour drained from his face.

Although he and Layla had become close again since that night when she broke down for the first time and their relationship was still on very shaky grounds. There was so much that could go wrong and he knew that if she ever found out that he was involved in any way with Jason's decision their relationship may be damaged beyond repair. Shane couldn't handle that.

He'd seen the pills she swallowed every morning when she woke up and every night before she went to bed, saw how tired she became after dancing and how often she'd have to stop just to be able to breathe normally-and it worried him. He'd been there the whole time that his mother was sick and recognised the signs.

Layla was sick and although he didn't know what had happened he knew something was seriously wrong. After 7 years of being apart Shane wasn't going to let something like this get between them and he was determined not to let her go again-especially if...

Luckily Shane's train of thought was interrupted when Jason shook his head indicating that she didn't know the truth yet and he and Nate sighed in relief.

"No she doesn't know anything but she knows there was a reason why I lied to her."

"And that's why she's not talking to you right?" Nate asked, finally fitting all the pieces together. "She knows you lied but you wont tell her why? Am I right?"

Jason nodded again and shot his brother a sad look before turning to look down at the ground.

"She can't find out." Shane insisted quietly after taking a quick pause to digest this latest bit of information. "If she ever finds out that me and Nate had something to do with your decision she'll hate all of us."

Nate's head snapped up and he stared at Shane intently a look of mild anger and irritation spread across his face.

"Hang on a minute. I agree with you that things would be bad but it's not fair on Jason. He's being blamed for something _we_ wanted him to do."

"You think I don't know that?!" Shane insisted loudly, his anger and frustration growing with every word. "I didn't want any of this to happen! It was you who convinced him to go through with it!"

Nate scoffed angrily.

"Oh come on! We both know that you wanted them to apart as much as I did! Let's not forget it was you that dragged him out here in the first place. I was happy just to try and talk him out of it then if he didn't want to leave him alone. It was you tying him to a chair and trying to scare the shit out of him that did it!"

Shane jumped out of chair, finally pushed over the edge, and started shouting angrily at him.

"Scare him?! _Scare_ Jase! Ha. The only thing he's scared of is blackcurrants-"

"And your sister." Jason interrupted causing Nate and Shane to pause for a second and acknollege his involvement in this arguement. After all it was about him.

"And Layla." Shane added grudgingly, not particularly like the way they were talking about his sister, before carrying on with his tirade.

"We both know it was that little chat you had with him afterwards that sealed the deal. What the hell did you say to him anyway?"

Nate's face suddenly feel and the anger left him as he turned to stare at his brother nervously.

* * *

The room was silent for a split second as Shane's face slowly turned from anger to curiosity. He had picked up on the nervous look the brothers had shared and suddenly became interested in what really happened that night that they had kept from him.

Nate and Jason saw the change and Nate held his breath nervously as he watched Jason get up and stood between Nate and Shane, making sure he was in grabbing distance of either of them if a fight started between them.

Quickly he shot Nate a warning look before turning back to Shane to try and calm the situation down.

"It doesn't matter what he said to me at the end of the day it was my choice." Jason said calmly as he tried to stop his friend from glaring at Nate who was slowly falling apart under the scrutiny of his intense glare.

The Carters weren't good at keeping secrets and as bad as Jason was, when under pressure especially from Shane, Nate was even worse.

"But you only made-" Nate sentence was cut short as Jason rushed forward and quickly clasped his hand over Nate's mouth.

"Shut up." Jason hissed menacingly through gritted teeth while Shane watched them intently, his curiosity growing with every second.

Jason waited until he could feel Nate shaking his head under his hand before removing it and returning to stand in the middle of the two of them again.

"It doesn't matter what was said or done in the past. What matters now is that Layla never finds out what really happened. Sure she's a little angry with me at the moment, but give it a couple of days and she'll be fine. Well...sort of. Anyway the point is she can't find out. Agreed?"

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

Jason nodded in agreement. "Great now we just need to find a way to get through the next couple of days without Layla trying to kill me."

Shane sighed and sympathetically patted his friend on the back.

"Dude as much as I hate to say this. That's not gonna happen. I haven't seen the look that angry since the time her dad came over and I told him to kiss my ass before kicking him out of the apartment."

Jason and Nate winced painfully along with Shane as they remembered the months of kicking, screaming and -on one occasion- attempted eye gouging which marked the beginning of the end for the four of them and one of the roughest patches in Layla and Shane's childhood.

"Damn I never realised just how violent that girl was until today." Nate muttered, shaking is head sadly.

* * *

They stood there in silence for a couple of minutes before Shane's phone went off breaking the unnatural silence between them.

"Hello?"

The voice from the other end of the phone was so loud that Shane had to hold it away from his ear.

"SHANE GRAY I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE BUT YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS TO CAMP ROCK RIGHT NOW!" Mitchie screamed from the other end of the line and Connect 3 winced at the anger in her voice.

"Jeez Mitch what's your problem?" Shane asked once she'd stopped screaming and was able to put the phone back to his ear without it being blown off.

"You, Jason and Nate are my problem! It's been 40 minutes since you three disappeared! We've been looking all over the camp for you!"

"Yeah and what? Uncle Brown's not gonna freak out if we're a little late. That guy's never on time."

Shane's eyes went wide at Mitchie's response and the colour drained from his face before he quickly flipped his phone shut and barrelled out of the shed. Nate and Jason stared after him for a second before chasing after him.

"Dude. What the hell's going on?"

"We're late."

Nate shrugged. "So? Brown's never on time."

"Well he was today and as punishment he's sent Tess to look for us."

"Well that's not too bad. I mean it's not like sh..."

"AHHH!"

Jason screamed and jumped back knocking Shane and Nate clean over, straight onto the asses.

"What the hell Jase!" Shane yelled at him looking for an explanation but he didn't get any, instead all he saw was a stuttering, pale faced Jason pointing at the closed glass doors in front of him.

* * *

Slowly Nate and Shane followed his line of sight and they gasped when they saw a pair of cold, angry eyes staring back at them. Standing in front of Jason, Shane and Nate, behind a thin plate of glass, was a very angry looking Tess.

In one hand she was waving the once white dress now stained beyond repair and in the other hand was the pair of shoes, still wet and dripping what looked like cranberry tea on Brown's expensive cream carpet.

Suddenly her eyes focused on Jason and she gave hem a quick, evil, smirk before dropping the clothes and bending down to reach the ground.

"Erm what is she doing?" Shane asked cautiously, unable to see what was going on. He was too shocked to get up off the floor and Jason was standing right in his way, shaking like a leaf therefore blocking his view of Tess from the legs up.

Quickly she stood up and Shane got a clear view of her now bare feet.

It took him a second to work out what it meant then it clicked.

"Oh shit! She's taken her shoes off!"

"Oh my God she's coming after us! We're all gonna die!" Jason screamed loudly before turning on his heel and running as far away as he could. "Run! Run for your lives!"

* * *

Shane and Nate didn't need telling twice. The second they worked out what she was doing they were scrambling to their feet and racing after Jason.

Suddenly without them noticing Tess came flying out of the cabin and a shoe went flying past them, embeddeding itself in the trunk of a tree just centimetres from Jason's head.

He gulped and stopped to stare at the shoe for a second before he felt himself being dragged off by Shane and Nate.

"You just wait Jason Carter!" She screamed as she rounded the corner after them just in time to see them jumping into Nate's car. "The next time I won't miss!"


	25. Chapter 23

**A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I'm curently rewritting some stuff for fiction press and it's taking me a little longer than I expected. Also there was snow!!! Lol may not seem that exciting but it was the worst snow we've had here in England for something like 18 years so I've been spending all my time out playing in it! It's amazing! Monday was the nest snow day ever!**

**Lol anyway on with the story. Hope you like it especially as it doesn't exactly work out the way I planned in the beginning. Hopefully it's better. I'd love to know what you think of it.**

**Thanks for reading! Xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 23

"Next time we need to make a quick getaway remind me not to get in your car!" Shane yelled as he glared out of the back window, searching for any sign of Tess' baby blue Porsche.

Having the advantage of speed (and shoes) Connect 3 had made it to the driveway of the cabin first but with Shane and Jason's cars still in the shop they had no option but to take Nate's car which may not have been a bad idea...except Nate had to drive it.

No one else was allowed to drive his car apart from Caitlyn as he had this stupid idea in his head that anyone else would crash it. Of course with all of them apart from Nate and Cailyn being involved in some type of crash,in reality the idea wasn't that stupid but that wasn't the point.

As safe as Caitlyn was when driving Nate was the most safety conscious driver out of all of them and it annoyed everyone to no end.

Not because he was needlessly slow, never going over 30 mph, but because instead of choosing a boring humdrum type of car that couldn't take the heat of going faster than a snail, he brought a super fast car that everyone was dying to race around in yet never got the chance!

"Come on Nate!" Jason groaned impatiently, drumming his fingers against the side panel of the passengers side door before throwing his arms up in the air exasperatedly when he saw how fast they were going.

" 15 mph! Grammy J moves faster than that!"

Nate shot Jason a confused look.

"Jase. Grandma's dead."

"Exactly! And if you don't get your ass into gear-or more importantly _**your car**_-so are we! So hurry up!"

"But the speed limit's..."

"**FUCK THE SPEED LIMIT!**" Jason screamed frantically as a baby blue Porsche suddenly came into view, swerving up the winding roads and gaining on them quicker than anyone expected.

* * *

Unlike Nate, Tess had no problem with speed (or breaking the speed limit as various parking tickets showed) and now was right behind them and gaining with every second.

If they carried on at this pace they'd either get there at the same time or she'd be there way before them... ready and waiting. Either way if they didn't speed up or she didn't slow down (and the chances of that were slim to none) they were gonna get their asses kicked.

Luckily enough the shock of Jason's loud cursing and the sight of the baby blue Porsche in his rear view mirror was enough to convince Nate and he put his foot to the gas pedal...hard. The car jerked suddenly and raced forward as the gap between them and the Porsche increased.

It didn't last long though as Tess quickly worked out what was going on and with an evil smirk visible even from Nate's car far in front, she increased her speed and was right behind them in a matter of seconds.

"This isn't gonna work guys. She's not giving up!" Nate hissed as he concentrated on trying to get away from the crazy woman in the blue car behind them, but every time he increased his speed so would Tess. He was now hovering around 80 mph, each mph closer to the hundred mark making him more anxious on these winding mountain roads.

Shane scoffed angrily before ripping his eyes away from the road and looking at the brothers sitting in the front of the car.

Nate was trying his best to concentrate on the winding roads and not the speedometer while Jason nervously tapped his fingers on the passenger side door, never once taking his worried eyes off the car behind them.

"Of course she'd not giving up Nate! This is Tess Tyler we're talking about! She's all nice and fluffy when the girls are around but when it's just us she's worse now than she ever was before! She's been on the edge of turning back into a full bitch for weeks now, I could tell when she managed to convince Ella and Peggy into being her back up singers that she was getting close and now I think she's finally given into the dark side. Hell, Jason managed to ruin hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of designer clothing in less time than it took her to pay for it! If that doesn't push her right over the edge and straight into the deep end I don't know what will! We're lucky she hasn't sent a hit man after us!"

Jason and Nate shot him a disbelieving look out of the corner of their eyes.

"Hey! All I'm saying is that girl's got connections. You heard what she did in London didn't you?"

Jason's face went pale as months worth of newspaper articles flashed past his eyes, each one more outrageous and disbelieving than the first.

"I thought that was just a myth." He whispered painfully.

Shane grimaced.

"So did I until Mitchie showed me the photos. Believe me it was _all_ real."

* * *

Suddenly a ringing noise filled the car and Nate glanced at the caller ID, grimacing slightly at the name it displayed, before pressing a button to turn on the hand's free and turning the loudspeaker on so the others could hear **(a/n: sorry if that didn't make much sense I dunno how to explain it)**.

"What do you want Tess?" Nate asked through gritted teeth as his hands clutched tighter on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white with the pressure he was exerting.

"You boys talking about me?" Tess' smug voice came through the line and they shuddered at the slight hint of evilness in it.

They all looked at each other confused.

"How did you know that?" Nate asked slowly.

Beside him Jason started scanning the car frantically looking under everything searching for bugs.

"Jase stop looking. I haven't got the car bugged. Even if I did do you think I'd put it somewhere where you'd be able to find it?"

Suddenly he sat up straight in his seat and narrowed his eyes, feeling more than a little uncomfortable and hating the fact that she knew exactly what was going on without them knowing how. Nate shot Jason a quick concerned look before turning his attention back to Tess' voice.

"You still haven't answered my question Tess. How do you know? The windows on this car are tinted there's no way you'd be able to see in so how do you know what we're doing yet alone talking about?!If I find out..."

They could literally hear Tess rolling her eyes on the other end of the line as she answered.

"Don't have a heart attack Nate. I know you remember? Hell I dated all three of you at some point over the last 7 years it's not like it's that difficult!"

The three of them looked at each other for a second remembering the more darker points of their lives with a violent shudder before tuning back into what she was saying.

"So I think by now I know what you're thinking. I bet it's something along the lines of... She's gonna kill us...we're gonna get our asses kicked...what's she gonna do to us/our stuff/our **pets**" She said putting the emphasis on the word "pets" causing Jason's eyes to widen in shock and fear as he sat up straighter in his seat. "Am I right?"

"If you touch one feather on that parrot I will hunt you down personally and kill you!" Shane hissed taking everyone by surprise at the slight accent in his voice, giving away just how angry he was.

Out of everyone he hated Jason's parrot Marty the most so for him to suddenly leap to it's defence shocked everyone including Tess, who was rendered speechless for a couple of minutes before she groaned angrily.

"Fine." She admitted haughtily after a while. "I'll leave the damn parrot alone. But don't think that's the end of it! I know way more than you think I do."

The car was silent as she let the information sink in and the three of them looked at each other with confused and anxious expressions as each tried to think of the various things they'd done in their past which they would have preferred to remain hidden.

"Remember I'm good at finding stuff out and I know_ all_ your dirty little secrets." She whispered suddenly, her cold voice breaking the silence in the car and causing them all to gasp in horror and the honesty that they contained.

There was no doubt that she was telling the truth and shock of what she'd said had been enough to make Nate take his hands off the wheel and his eyes off the road for a fraction of a second as he tried to regulate his breathing. He didn't notice that he almost swerved off the road and hit a tree until Shane and Jason started screaming at him.

Suddenly he came out of his thoughts with a jolt and grabbed the steering wheel, correcting himself just in time to avoid it.

Tess giggled.

"Wow looks like I've hit a nerve."

Shane narrowed her eyes at her voice.

"You're one sick sadistic bitch do you know that!?" He growled earning himself another laugh from Tess.

"Oh of course I do! That's what makes life fun."

* * *

Jason, who so far had been too shocked to say anything since Tess' revelation, finally snapped out of it and the shocked, confused expression was suddenly replaced with one of sadness and pity.

"Why are you doing this Tess?" He whispered sadly, earning himself a few concerned glances of his own from Shane and Nate. " I thought you changed. I thought you were our friend. Why are you acting like this?"

Tess' laugh filled the car again and Connect 3 shuddered worriedly at the evilness in it.

"That's priceless Jase. Truly. I thought you we stupid when we were dating but this is priceless! You actually thought I was _friends _with you?! And you know exactly why I'm acting like this so don't try and act so innocent!"

"So what Tess? You were just using us?" Shane growled angrily from the back of the car "That's what this is all about. You were just being nice for all this time so you could use us?"

"Duh." She said like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Why else would I hang around with you and your pathetic little followers?"

Nate growled from the front of the car and his hands tightened even more, if possible, around the steering wheel in an attempt to control his anger. Jason just narrowed his eyes, a sure sign he was getting angry, while Shane's face had turned bright red and his was biting fiercely on his bottom lip to stop himself from roaring at her.

They'd always known that Tess was evil but this was going too far.

"Why are you doing all this Tess?! You're already famous and have more money than you know what to do with. Why do you have to use and torture us?"

"BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WANT ME!" She screamed, the anger and desperation showing in her voice was a clear sign to all of them that this time _they'd_ hit a nerve.

"All I've ever wanted is a famous boyfriend and whose more famous than Connect 3? So I started dating Nate. Thought I might as well start a the bottom and work my way up but then he decided that_ techno freak_ was better than me. Took me a while to get over it but the next year I thought what better way to move on than date his best friend. Boy that was fun! I never thought I'd see two people argue so much about me in my life before but then 2 weeks into Camp Rock Shane dumped me for the _kitchen girl._.."

It took all Shane's strength not to jump out of the car and chase after her for calling Mitchie that in such a disgusted tone.

Even now after almost 6 years Mitchie still felt bad about that part of her first summer at Camp Rock and although she'd learned from it and grown as a person it still caused her pain. The only thing that stopped him was the fact that if he jumped out of Nate's car doing 90 mph up winding mountain roads he was pretty sure he'd end up in hospital and that was the last thing anyone needed so he clenched his hands together tightly and started listening to her continuous ranting and raving.

" So I waited and waited until Jason finally dumped that stupid bimbo of his. And Jase.... What can I say about Jase? Well I gotta say that one hurt the most. I actually loved him... like really loved him. "

She sighed heavily.

"And to think we were about to get married..."

"YOU WERE GONNA MARRY HER!" Shane and Nate screamed angrily as they turned to him with shocked expressions all over their faces and Nate almost crashed into yet another tree. Tess' shock revelation earlier was nothing compared to this.

"Ooops didn't he tell you?" Tess said with mock innocence but everyone could hear the smirk in her voice. She knew exactly what she was doing.

"You're such a bitch Tess!" Jason, screamed angrier than he'd ever been before. "You and I both know that that was a mistake and it was _you_ who called it off!"

"Because you said you wouldn't get married without that pathetic, sniveling little brat at your wedding! No wonder it took Shane 7 years to find her again! I've never met anyone so pathetic in my whole life and that's saying something given who I've been reduced to hanging out with lately."

* * *

They all took a deep, painful intake of breath and Nate's eyes flickered off the road for a second to see the thunderous expressions on his best friend and brother's faces. It was a tie between them which one was more angry.

Sure they were all furious and offended about what she'd just said as there was no doubt who they were talking about.

Jason had always stated firmly whenever the subject of marriage had been brought up (and with the amount of engagements and weddings lately it had happened- a lot) that he wouldn't get married unless Layla was there too. It was a pact that all four of them had made when they were younger-to make all important decisions together-and although they'd all broken it at some point Jason was determined not to do it again.

Out of the three of them it was clear that the anger was more intense for Shane who was fiercely protective of his sister and also for Jason who still (of course) had feelings for her.

It was the slight flicker in Jason's eyes that gave it all away though. A kind of look that Nate had never seen in his brothers eyes before that told him everything. A strange mixture of burning anger, pain and fear at Tess' words told Nate that there was more to what happened between his brother and Shane's little sister than he'd let on and Tess somehow had found out.

Nate and Jason's eyes connected for a fraction of a second and, like the first time Nate found out it the shed, Jason knew that Nate had figured out what was going on and his whole expression changed. Nate's eyes hardened slightly as Jason was about to open his mouth to say something but Nate beat him to it.

"That's what this whole thing with the dress and being nice to Layla's been about isn't it?" He said suddenly ripping his eyes away from Jason to stare at the phone like he was staring at Tess. With a cold, hateful gaze.

" You thought if you got her on your side and turned her into one of your little robots you could control her like you used to control Peggy and Ella. That way you'd be able to use her to get closer to us and somehow convince Jason to get back with you. That's what you really want isn't it? You're not pissed that me and Shane moved on you're pissed because Jason did. You really loved him didn't you and he didn't love you back so now you're using her to get back at him."

"The little slut deserves it." She snapped menacingly. "Turning up like she was the poor, innocent, fucked up little orphan reject when we all know that she'd not quite as innocent as she seems. Tell me Shane do you know what your little cast off of a sister does behind closed doors? If I was you I'd keep an eye on her. It seems like she's earning herself quite a little reputation."

* * *

That was it. Shane finally snapped and it took Jason climbing into the back of the car and pinning him back in his seat to stop him screaming and roaring obscenities at her as he tried to throw himself out of the car.

"No one calls my little sister a slut and gets away with it! I'm going to fucking kill her!" He screamed hysterically the whole time Tess was giggling happily to herself.

"I have no idea what type of game your playing but lets get something straight right now." Jason stated, suddenly the calmest out of the three of them although Nate could tell that Tess' comment about Layla had really gotten to him and all the anger and resentment he felt towards Tess was hovering just under the surface of his calm expression.

"It ends now. All of it. The games, the bitchy comments,...everything. From now on you stay as far away as humanly possible from all of us and you move all your shit out of our lives. And if I ever, _ever _hear you even say anything even slightly offensive about Mitchie, Caitlyn or Layla again I will personally rip you to shreds with my bare hands..."

Shane suddenly stopped struggling and looked at Jason with a mixture of confusion and respect for what he'd just done for his sister.

"I don't believe you." Tess stated defiantly causing Jason's face to suddenly lose it's calm expression and turn angry in a matter of seconds.

" Don't underestimate me Tess I will do it. Stay away from all of them or I will _ruin_ you. Do I make myself clear?"

The seriousness in Jason's voice was so clear that no one not even Tess doubted that he meant it.

"Crystal." Tess said dryly before adding in a more cheerful voice. "But I think before I go I should pop in on that meeting with Brown before I leave. Say goodbye to the girls... get a few things off my chest you know? I mean what's Camp Rock without a little bit of drama?"

* * *

With one last evil cackle she disconnected and Connect 3 was left in silence. The next thing they knew the Porsche had overtaken them and was tearing down the road, leaving a trail of dust behind it. The three of them stared at the car in shock before Shane and Jason suddenly went flying back into their seats as Nate raced after her determination shining in his eyes.

"What the hell? _110_..._115_. Shit Nate you're gonna crash!" Jason screamed worriedly as he watched the needle on the speedometer climb higher and higher as the scenery rushed past them.

Nate though didn't seem to care as he raced around each corner taking routes that none of them had even been on before, all the time his eyes filled with a mixture of anger, determination ,and as his speed increased, excitement.

Shane slowly cottoned on and leaned forward in his seat to watch the scene in front of him, putting a hand calmly on Nate's shoulder in an attempt to attract his attention enough to slow him down.

"Nate." He said calmly as he could, racing up in the middle of nowhere at 120 mph after a woman hellbent on ruining their lives. "You need to slow down."

Nate laughed comically like it was all a big joke.

"No what I need is for you to sit your ass down in that seat and shut up!" He stated evenly as he jerked the steering wheel, causing him to turn sharply around a corner and Jason and Shane to fall back into their seats.

Jason and Shane looked at each other worriedly before Shaen lent forward and attempted to talk sense into his best friend again.

"Nate. You have to slow down. There's no need to drive this fast. You're gonna crash."

All this did was earn another laugh from Nate as he increased his speed yet again, now hovering around 140mph as he roared through the quiet countryside.

"Why do you think that I only let Caitlyn drive my car?"

Shane and Jason stared at him with blank faces before he continued.

" Because while you two were chasing down a long lost sister and planning to marry a crazy manipulative bitch, me and Caitlyn were taking advanced driving lessons."

"But why?"

"Why not?" Nate shrugged. "We were taking a break, you two were occupied with other things and it was something to do."

Jason and Shane looked down at the ground sheepishly and more than a little guilty. All this time while they'd been focused on their own personal problems they'd almost completely ignored Nate.

"Hey Nate. I-a mean we- well...we're." Shane started awkwardly, not quite sure how to say what he was thinking.

"Don't worry about it. Honestly I understand." Nate cut in once he'd sensed the awkwardness in his voice. These sort of conversations didn't come naturally to the three of them and all three were filled with relief when Nate intervened. "I know you didn't mean to. You both had things on your mind."

They sat in silence for a second before Nate smirked.

"Plus. Now it means the next time we're being chased by crazed fans the car won't end up wrapped around a telephone pole!"

The awkward tension in the car disappeared as Nate and Jason started laughing at Shane's offended expression.

"Hey that only happened once and I couldn't help it. You'd crash too if a group of fan girls tried to climb onto the hood of your car like a pack of wild animals at a safari park!"

"Hey can't argue with that." Nate shrugged as he turned one last corner and sped into the car park at Camp Rock narrowly missing a couple of campers who (very kindly) flipped them off as they sped by.

* * *

With effortless precision Nate spun into the last available space, cut the engine and barreled out of the car just in time to see Tess' baby blue Porsche race into the car park a couple of seconds after them and circle the lot impatiently as she searched for a space.

Nate waved at her cockily, a huge grin spreading across his face at the look of pure anger and hated on hers, before mock saluting her and running the short distance to Brown's cabin.

"You know she's definitely gonna kill you know don't you?" Jason asked as he and Shane caught up with him just outside Brown's door.

"Of course." He said grimly as his hand extended out to open the cabin door. "But for now I'm more worried about keeping her away from Mitchie, Caitlyn and Layla. They can't find out. Ever."

They looked at each other for a second before nodding in agreement just as they saw Tess heading straight for them determination shinning brighter in her eyes than ever before as she apporoached them. From a distance they saw the playful smirk on her face and flashed her 3 of their own.

If Tess wanted to play as far as Connect 3 were concerned....

It was game on.


	26. Chapter 24

**a/n: Hey here's the latest chapter it's kinda long and took me ages to write but hopefully you'll like it as I kinda spent the time when I should be doing my English Lit coursework writing this! Oops! Anyway this is a lot more fun than doing a close analysis of The history boys (great play just don't like analysising it!) so I hope you enjoy iy and rea dand review.**

**Thanks to everyone who's reading this. It really means a lot! :P xoxo**

**BTW the beginning of this chapter take place at the same time as the last chapter! :P**

* * *

Chapter 24

Mitchie and Layla's jaws dropped open as they pulled up outside Brown's cabin to find Brown standing there smack bang in the middle of his front garden, staring at them, his arms folded across his chest with a serious expression on his face. It was soon replaced with one of mild annoyance as he saw the look on Mitchie and Layla's faces.

"Alright alright no need to look so shocked." He said dryly as they got out of the car and Layla, still open mouthed, walked up to him and stared for a second before shaking her head violently as if trying to clear it.

"I don't believe it." She whispered disbelievingly as she continued to stare at him. "He's actually here and on time."

Brown rolled his eyes.

"Yes _he_ is. And _he_ would like if you would stop talking about him like he's not. And don't even think about trying to poke me Layla Jayne!"

Shocked and disgruntled by his sudden use of her full name Layla jumped back and slowly lowered her outstretched hand.

"I was just checking." She grumbled. Beside her Mitchie shook her head sadly but couldn't help but smile a little at the pout on her sister in law's face. She too had doubted that Brown was there but once she realised that it was actually his cabin and therefore he didn't have to travel any further than from his bed to his front room Mitchie's doubts suddenly disappeared.

"So where are they?" Brown asked suddenly changing the subject. "I'm assuming that they're either making their own way here or folded up in your glove compartment, either way they'd better get here soon."

Mitchie's eyes went wide and she looked at Brown like he was speaking another language.

"What?! You mean they're not..OWW!" She yelped painfully as the heel of Layla's shoe forcefully made contact with Mitchie's foot.

Mitchie mouth hung open and she was unable to speak for a couple of seconds due to the pain before she began hopping on one foot while shooting death glares at Layla. Layla shot her back some looks of her own before turning back to her uncle and laughing nervously.

"What my sister in law means to say is.... They're right behind us! Yeah! Jason caught sight of a woodpecker and you know what that boy's like with birds....bird crazy!" She rambled nervously before grabbing hold of Mitchie and pulling her into the cabin.

"Where are you..." Brown began but Layla cut him off.

"Sorry gotta go Uncle Brown. Bye! Love you!" She shouted hurriedly before steering Mitchie away and deep into the crowd of councilors which had all been crammed into Brown's smaller on site cabin.

She waited until she'd successfully navigated them through the crazy throngs of people before dragging her into the kitchen and shutting the door behind them.

* * *

"Good job Mitchie you almost dropped them right in it." Layla hissed as she grabbed an ice pack and handed it to Mitchie to put on her foot. Mitchie gratefully accepted it and the pair of them sat down on the breakfast bar as she took of her shoe and she groaned with relief as the ice made contact with her foot.

"Damn Layla did you have to stamp on my foot so hard?!"

"Sorry." She said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to. I'm used to fighting with the guys and Ryan. It never usually bothers them...besides,it was the only way I could think of shutting you up."

Mitchie glared at her for a minute before she started talking again.

"What do you mean "landing them in it"? Brown can't exactly tell them off for being late. He's never on time...Well apart from today. That was just a fluke."

"Yeah you're right that's just creepy usually someone has to go in and wake him up when he calls us to his cabin but that's not what I'm talking about. Did you see the look on his face when we pulled up and then again when he noticed that the guys weren't with us?"

Mitchie shook her head and Layla sighed exasperatedly.

"God Mitchie you're one of the most unobservant people I've met!"

Her eyes narrowed and she raised the ice pack to throw at Layla before the burning pain in her foot caused her to stop.

"Well I'm sorry I was a bit preoccupied with the fact that my foot was being trampled to death!"

Layla rolled her eyes at Mitchie's over exaggeration but continued.

"He was serious. And not Brown "I'm being uncool" serious like he was with the toilet roll incident yesterday." Mitchie sniggered slightly as she remembered the guys' faces when Brown told them off for dressing up like mummies to teach try and scare the other councilors. Layla also smirked a little as she recalled the look of terror on Danny's brother Kieran's face before continuing. "I mean "the time Shane locked me in an airing when I was 5" serious."

Mitchie's face fell.

"Shane locked you in an airing cupboard?"

Layla sighed.

"He thought it was the TARDIS but that doesn't matter. What matters is Brown was seriously pissed off. I mean_ seriously _seriously and he had_ the_ exact expression on his face then as he does now."

"So what does that mean?"

Layla shrugged.

" I dunno but it must be serious for Brown to call us all in early, turn up on time and actually be annoyed at the guys because they're not here. Everyone knows that Connect 3 are his favourites! He'd forgive them for anything!"

"And?"

Layla groaned.

"Oh my God you've been around my brother too much his stupidity is rubbing off on you. Something serious is going on here at Camp Rock and whatever it is...it isn't good."

Mitchie and Layla sat in silence for a while contemplating what might be going on when Mitchie suddenly jumped up from her seat and threw the ice pack down on the table.

"Well sitting around here's not gonna do us any good is it."

"But what about your foot?"

Mitchie waved off her concern and began dancing around the kitchen causing Layla to laugh at the stupidity of it as she tried to dance without falling over with only one shoe on. Eventually Mitchie stopped and grinned back at Layla before linking arms with the younger girl.

"See I'm fine. Now come on. I wanna get out there and catch up on the latest conspiracy theories before the guys show up."

Layla laughed along with Mitchie and the both began walking towards the door. They'd barely stepped past the threshold when a loud scream caught their attention.

* * *

"Really Caitlyn you don't need to be so dramatic." Brown sighed as Layla and Mitchie quickly made their way towards the group of their friends and family which had gathered in the corner of the room.

"What's going on here?" Mitchie asked worriedly when she saw the frantic look on her best friend's usually calm and rational face.

"Barron here suggested to Brown that Tess be the one to go and find Shane and Nate." Caitlyn hissed.

"What?!" Layla and Mitchie shrieked simultaneously, causing anyone who wasn't already looking to turn and stare at them inquisitively. "Noooo! You can't do that!"

"I can do what ever I want." Brown stated firmly. "And I want Tess to go look for them."

"But...But..." Layla stuttered.

"No buts. It's been 40 minutes. I only gave them 30. They're not here so I'm going to do something about it and that something is Tess."

"I'll go." Layla called desperately, trying to think of anything to save her brother and best friends from a fate worse than death.

"You don't have a license." Brown shot back causing Layla to groan in frustration and annoyance as she began to mutter under her breath.

Brown rolled his eyes.

"And don't start that crap about the tree jumping out at you from nowhere, The judge didn't buy it and neither do I. No it's settled. Tess will go."

* * *

Layla, Mitchie and Caitlyn continued to argue with him trying to change his mind but, like Shane and Layla, Brown was stubborn and refused to give in so when Tess came back from the bathroom he instantly asked her and she agreed.

They watched with wide eyed horror and shock as she made her way towards the door before suddenly springing into action and racing after her, jumping right in front of the tall blonde woman as she reached her hand out for the door handle.

Shocked to find three people in front of her instead of a solid wooden door Tess pulled back slightly and stared at them suspiciously.

"What are you doing?" She asked slowly as they began to look at each other nervously, trying to search for an explanation between the three of them for their abnormal behaviour.

"Shoes!" Layla blurted out unintentionally earning herself a glare from Caitlyn and Mitchie and a wary look from Tess.

"Shoes?"

"Yeah your shoes." Layla stuttered nervously as she tried to come up with a reasonable excuse involving the red satin heels Tess was currently wearing. "They look expensive and we'd hate for them to get ruined."

Tess looked at her more confused then ever.

"Why would they get ruined?"

Layla stared at her open mouthed as she searched around her brain for an answer and came up with nothing. Mentioning the shoes had been a spur of the moment thing and now she had nothing else to say. Floundering and gaping at Tess like a fish out of water, Layla looked desperately between Mitchie and Caitlyn before Mitchie finally took pity on her and jumped in with an answer which surprised everyone (including herself).

"She means the mud."

Everyone looked at her like she was crazy and Mitchie's eyes closed as she realised the own stupidity of her answer. Today was one of the hottest days of the year and with no rain for weeks and a water ban in place no one had seen mud for a while.

"Mud? You're worried about me getting _mud_ on my shoes?" Tess asked disbelievingly.

By now the other councilors had completely stopped what they were doing and were watching with undivided attention to see what the trio would do next.

"Yeah mud." Mitchie said more firmly this time. "While you were in the bathroom Woody thought he was a water sprinkler again and now every where's covered in water and mud. I've never seen anything like it!"

They saw the look of disbelief on her face as she craned her neck to look out of the window. Knowing what Mitchie said was a total lie Caitlyn quickly darted to the side and blocked Tess' view before she could see anything, flashing her a quick grin as a look of annoyance flashed across Tess' face.

"She's right you know." Caitlyn said seriously as Mitchie and Layla nodded their heads in agreement, all three of them hoping it would be enough to convince Tess but she still looked doubtful.

"It's terrible and we'd hate to see those beautiful shoes get ruined by tea.."

Layla's eyes widened and her foot frantically stomped down on Caitlyn's before she could go any further causing Caitlyn to yelp out in pain.

"MUD!" Mitchie yelled suddenly covering up her friend's stupidity as quickly as she could. "She means mud!"

Tess looked at them weirdly for a second before edging past them and reaching for the door, which in their mad attempt to block her from looking out the window was no longer covered.

"I think I'll take my chances." She said softly before yanking open the door and walking out towards her car.

"But why?" Layla added desperately as the three of them started chasing after her. "Mitchie or Caitlyn would be glad to go and bring them back , wouldn't you?"

They nodded enthusiastically but Tess had already unlocked her car and was stepping into the driver's seat.

"Don't worry about it guys. I left my purse back at the cabins so I was going back anyway. It's not a big deal."

Before they could say anything Tess was in her car and driving away out of sight.

* * *

They stared after her for a couple of seconds in silence before Mitchie let out a low and frustrated scream of anger.

"Stupid boys with their stupid time keeping!" She muttered angrily as she whipped her phone out of her back pocket and began punching in numbers furiously before realising that there was no signal and snapping it shut forcefully as she stormed back into the cabin, closely followed by Caitlyn and Layla.

By the time they'd caught up with her she'd already found Brown's phone and was tapping her fingernails on the back of the receiver as she waited impatiently for someone to answer.

The second they did her entire face changed and she started to scream catching the attention of anyone in the immediate area with the loud voice and colourful language.

"SHANE GRAY I DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE BUT YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS TO CAMP ROCK RIGHT NOW!"

* * *

Sensing that Mitchie was out for blood Layla and Caitlyn did a 180 and turned back around heading towards the others.

"This is a disaster." Layla muttered as they trudged dejectedly towards their friends. "Who's stupid idea was it to suggest Tess went anyway?"

The pair stopped for a second to think before it finally clicked and they began storming towards their friends shouting the same thing simultaneously as they crossed the room.

"BARRON!"

He turned around instantly at the sound of his name and when he saw the look on their faces, froze and the smile disappeared from his face.

"What did you do that for?!" Layla hissed menacingly as she stormed up to Barron slapped him around the back of the head forcefully creating a loud smacking sound as her hand made contact with his head.

"Ow!" he yelped, instantly covering his head and moving away in an attempt to avoid any further assaults from Layla or Caitlyn."What was that for?! I didn't do anything wrong!"

By this time Mitchie had finished yelling at Shane and arrived just in time to hear what was going on and the three of them turned to stare at him, wide eyed with shock and anger.

"Didn't do anything wrong!" Mitchie screeched hysterically as she began pacing the room. "You just convinced Brown to send Tess out to look for Shane,Jason and Nate! You practically signed their death warrant!"

Barron's forehead creased in confusion as he tried to make sense of what they were saying.

"Wait Wait! All I did was tell Brown she would go. Tess needed something from the cabin and Brown needed someone to get the guys. I did nothing wrong so what exactly is your problem?!"

Mitchie groaned and began hitting the palm of her hand against her forehead in frustration.

"Because currently sitting in our games room is a very expensive and one of a kind vintage Chanel dress with matching satin heels which Tess brought and Jason ruined."

Everyone gasped and Ella who previously had been more concerned with the state of her nails suddenly became interested, dropping the nail file to make her way towards them.

"What do you mean ruined?" She insisted forcefully, pushing Barron out of the way and getting as close as she could to Mitchie, Layla and Caitlyn before adding desperately. "You mean ruined as in a small stain or a pulled stitch or something right? Obviously something that can be fixed easily I mean theres no way it could be _ruined_ ruined. Please tell me it's not ruined!"

* * *

Layla gulped nervously for a second before shaking her head and telling them what happened. By the time they'd finished everyone's face had gone pale and Ella looked like she was debating whether to join Tess in hunting them down or crying over the destruction of something so beautiful and so expensive. After a couple of minutes of mental debate in which the rest of the gang could swear that they heard the cogs whirring in her head, she took a deep, calming breath and moved back to her previous spot in the corner of the room to continue filing her nails.

The others took a deep breath of relief at knowing that another crisis was safely averted before returning their attention to the one at hand.

Peggy, the most calm and collected out of all of them as well as the second eldest stepped forward and tried to calm everyone by pointing out that the chances were that Tess wouldn't find the dress before they could find a replacement. This seemed to work and everyone began to visibly calm down before Lola added something which instantly sent everyone into a panic again.

"Wait. Mitchie didn't you just say that you hid the dress in the games room?"

"What about it?" Mitchie asked, just as confused as Barron had been earlier as everyone turned to look at her disbelievingly.

"Mitchie. Shane, Nate and Jason practically live in that room whenever they have the cabin to themselves! If you were Tess and looking for Connect 3 in an empty cabin where would be the first place you looked?"

It took her a minute but eventually realisation dawned on her and she gasped loudly, covering her mouth in shock as she stared at them all wide eyed.

"I totally forgot about that!" She whispered slowly, her voice quivering slightly as the panic set in.

"Mitchie you idiot!" Caitlyn shouted loudly at her friend's stupidity. Up until now Caitlyn thought that Lola had simply misheard what Mitchie said but the look on Mitchie's face told her everything and now Caitlyn couldn't help but be annoyed by her best friend's ultimate moment of stupidity. "The games room! Mitchie! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I was thinking that it would be the last place she would look after that incident with you and Nate I just didn't factor in the unlikely event that she would be there when we weren't!"She snapped back defensively.

Caitlyn's face slowly started turning red as Mitchie continued to glare at her while the others started smirking all apart from Layla who just looked at them confused.

"What happened in the games room?" She asked innocently and the smirks instantly disappeared from their faces.

"NOTHING!" They all yelled quickly causing Layla to jump slightly at the seriousness and urgency in their tone which instantly warned her that whatever had happened was probably best kept in the past.

The gang gave an involuntary shudder at the memory (including Caitlyn) before returning to their squabbling about how Mitchie had been.

It was only when Peggy was halfway through arguing that anyone with a brain or even Tess would know that if they were looking for Connect 3 and Caitlyn wasn't in the house the best place to look would be the games room when they heard a loud cough from behind them.

* * *

Brown, who until now had been casually circling the room and making small talk with the other councilors while waiting for Connect 3 to turn up had noticed the increased noise level coming from those he had come to consider his family and had made his way towards them in an attempt to find out what had caused this latest outbreak of all too common madness among them.

Raising an eyebrow at them suspiciously as they all turned to look at him he took in their sheepish looks and angry glares before shaking his head and turning to the only person who looked almost as confused as he did for an explanation.

With a loud sigh Layla recalled the story again from the beginning for Brown while Mitchie and Caitlyn continued to grumble amongst each other. Mitchie didn't exactly like being called stupid and Caitlyn was still blushing from Mitchie's remarks and as a consequence the pair were now were now sulking and making childish comments in an attempt to cover up their embarrassment before Brown shot them a warning look which instantly shut them up.

Once Layla had finished Brown watched her for a second with a look of concentration on his face before speaking.

"So let me get this straight. You and Jason had some sort of argument and he chased you out of the kitchen into the hallway where at some point before you physically attacked him and had to be dragged away he ruined a priceless dress which Tess bought you?"

Layla nodded sadly.

"And now she's been sent out to find them and may or may not stumble across such a dress which she will then use to torture all three of them?"

Before Brown could say anything the door burst open and Connect 3 came racing in.

"Ah I'm guessing from the looks on your faces that Tess didn't find the dress?" Brown asked amusedly as the three of them grinned as they closed the door behind them.

"Would we be here if she did?" Shane lied smoothly as he smirked back at his uncle.

Uncle Brown laughed and smiled back at them slightly.

"So where's Tess? I suppose she's not too happy about having to run around looking for you three?"

Suddenly there was a loud bang as something heavy made contact with the door and Shane, Nate and Jason suddenly found themselves trying to hide their laughter.

"You could say that." Nate smirked slightly before the three of them hurried away, quickly getting lost in the crowd as they searched for their friends and family. Finally finding them huddled up in the corner of the room still arguing among each other they quickly said their hellos and worked their way into the centre of the group just in time to tell them with unfaltering certainty that Tess hadn't found the dress when a loud shriek filled the air.

* * *

They all jumped and turned just in time to see the door fly open and Tess come storming in, her nostril's flaring wildly as she scanned the room for Nate, Shane and Nate. Finally making eye contact with them she smirked evilly before making a bee line towards them.

"I thought you said she didn't find the dress?!" Mitchie whispered frantically.

"We lied..She did." Shane stuttered quickly as they moved further away from the approaching blonde. "But that's not what she's angry about."

Then what's her problem?" Layla whispered under her breath as they watched Tess work her way closer towards them but no one answered.

She was close enough now for the gang to be able to see her face and with the exception of Layla who had no idea what was happening, they gasped and recoiled in fear at the look on her face. Unlike Layla who'd never seen the look on Tess' face before the others knew that this wasn't just some little thing like a ruined dress that had gotten on her nerves.. oh no- it was much worse than that, much much worse-because they all knew that look...very well in fact.

It was the same look she had when they first met her at Camp Rock and the others realised as she suddenly came to a stop right next to Layla that the old Tess was back...and she was bigger and badder than ever.

* * *

"Hey Tess!" Layla said happily completely oblivious to the looks the others were shooting each other and the way Shane visibly stiffened when he saw how close Tess was to his sister. "Shane told us you found the dress. I am so sorry. It was completely my fault. I promise I'll fix it."

"Aww don't worry about it sweetie." She said with a fake smile which caused Shane to physically shake with anger. "It was nothing really. I'm not mad honest."

Layla's face broke into a genuine smile and she reached forward to pull Tess into a tight hug.

"Thanks Tess." She whispered into the blonde woman's ear as she hugged her back.

"No problem. That's what friends are for right?" She smirked at Shane and the others over her shoulder as the pair continued to hug. "Plus they're something I need to tell you."

Layla pulled away and looked at Tess curiously but before the woman could say anything Shane had grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to another part of the room.

"What the hell was that Tess?!" Shane hissed once they were far enough away. "I told you to stay away from them... especially Layla!"

"And I said I had to tell them something first!" She snapped as she yanked her arm away from him and glared at Shane angrily before storming back to the others.

Growling angrily he darted in front of her and grabbed her shoulders, stopping her from going any further as he stared at her fiercely.

"If you say one word to them I swear to God I will kill you with my bare hands!"

Tess just smirked and wiggled her way out of Shane's grasp.

"Will just see about that shall we?" She whispered darkly before putting on a fake smile and returning to her place next to Layla.

* * *

"Hey you're back." The younger girl said brightly as Tess sidled up to her. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

Tess opened her mouth but Shane beat her to it.

"Tess has decided to leave early haven't you Tess? Something about a gig in Nepal wasn't it?" Shane added lightly as he worked his way between the two and wrapped an arm protectively around Layla's shoulders as he glared at Tess over the top of his sister's head.

Tess shot him a glare before fixing a sickly sweet smile to her face.

"Yes. He's right I was going to cancel but it's such an important part of the tour so I changed my mind."

Layla's face fell.

"But what about your lessons here?"

"I'm sure Brown will be able to sort something out." Nate added quickly yet again beating Tess to her answer.

"Yes. I'm sure he will." She said with annoyance before smiling again. "But that's not what I wanted to talk about..."

"BROWN!" Jason suddenly shouted, cutting her off mid-sentence causing her to groan with frustration. "I don't know about everyone else but I'd love to know why I'm here so early on a Monday morning. Right guys?"

There was a loud murmur of agreement as the councilor's all turned to Brown demanding an answer as Tess sighed in defeat.

There was no way she was going to be able to go through with this now. Well not until Brown had told them the reason why they were here and to be honest she too was quite intrigued as to why they'd all been called in so early therefore she tried her best to ignore the satisfied smirks radiating from Connect 3 and actually (for once) tried to listen to Brown.

"As Jason so tactfully pointed out you're probably all wondering why I all called you here so early well it's simple really.. you're all fired."

"WHAT!!!!"

Brown laughed and the screams of protest stopped.

"I'm joking! I'm joking! None of you are fired. The catering company on the other hand though..."

"What do you mean?" Lola called out followed by a chorus of "yeahs".

"It turns out the catering company we hired were actually a front for some sort of drug smuggling outfit. The police raided their offices yesterday and last night they were unhappily carted away by a couple of the area's finest police officers. From the looks of it they're gonna be doing quite a long stint in jail so it's doubtful they'll be out in time to cook us breakfast this morning...or any other morning for the nect 20+ years."

The whole room stared at him open mouthed in shock.

"Wow." Nate said disbelievingly. "I was not expecting that."

Brown snorted.

"You weren't expecting it. How do you think I felt?"

"So what has all this got to do with us?"

The group all turned around and groaned as they recognised the voice coming from the blonde haired guitar instructor at the back of the room.

"Well Kieran." Brown stated tersely. "It's got everything to do with you as until I can find a replacement you're all on permanent kitchen duty and if I remember quickly it's your cabin's shift and I'd hurry up if I were you. They get a little nasty when they're hungry. Hop to it!"

The whole room groaned at the prospect of unlimited kitchen duty all apart from Mitchie who was chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully.

Brown caught onto the look and the groans at the same time and shouted at everyone to get on with it before turning back to Mitchie and who led them away from the others and began whispering in hushed tones.

Suddenly a wide smile spread across Mitchie's face and she hugged Brown excitedly before racing off out of the now empty room.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Layla asked curiously as Brown made his way back towards them, all signs of seriousness and stress gone from his face.

"Oh nothing except I think Mitchie might just have solved our little catering problem." He said casually before walking off to answer his cell phone which had been ringing non stop for the last 5 minutes.

Before Layla could even ask what he meant Brown was gone and Mitchie came bounding out of the back room, squealing excitedly as she flung herself into Shane's arms.

He laughed and swung her around happily.

"What's got you so happy? Not that I'm complaining but..."

"Connie's catering's going camping!" She yelled excitedly and in that moment Layla felt like all the air had left her body...

And everything went black.


	27. Chapter 25

**a/n: hey sorry for the delay. hope this makes up for it!**

**Like usual I don't own anything except my own characters and the story.**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. TTYL! XOXO**

* * *

Chapter 25

Jason barely noticed it over the noise. The small, barely audible but painful gasp over the noise of everyone's excitement at seeing Connie Torres again, the woman whom everyone had such fond memories of. They were so caught up in their excitement that no one noticed it apart from Jason.

After that it was like everything was in slow motion.

He turned around to try and find where the noise was coming from and came face to face with a sight that sent shivers of fear down his spine. Layla was standing there pale as snow, staring straight back at him, her eyes filled with fear and horror before they suddenly fluttered closed and she came crashing to the ground.

Jason didn't even take a second to think as he purely acted on impulse and dashed forward just in time to stop her from whacking her head of the solid wooden floor below. He began to panic as he fell to the floor himself, his knees weakening from fear and the extra unexpected weight as he tried his best to wake her up without totally freaking out.

"Oh my God!" Layla wake up!" Jason hissed frantically as he tried to wake the girl up. Nothing happened and Jason started panicking even more. He'd never been good with any type of medical emergency. Nate once cut his finger and Jason ended up having a panic attack and banging into a tree causing more damage to himself than what had been done to Nate and this was_ way_ worse than that!

He couldn't think straight. All he kept thinking was about the girl in his arms looking deathly pale and not moving. Any medical training he might have learned off Mitchie or her sister flew completely out of the window. So he did the only thing he could do. He called for help... but one was listening. They were all too busy excitedly chatting about how great it was to have Connie back to pay any attention to what was happening around them and although Jason loved them all to death he couldn't help but grow angry as his cries for help were ignored. Even Tess who was so intent on ruining their lives had somehow got mixed up in all the excitement and was paying no attention. In any other situation Jason would've been thankful for that but right now he needed help... even if it had to come from the devil herself.

* * *

Surprisingly,Mitchie was the first one to notice.

She was still being twirled around by Shane when she looked over his shoulder and saw Jason on the floor cradling something in his arms. At first she thought it was a bird. Jason was well known for finding birds around the place and nursing them back to health but this was bigger than a bird. Much bigger, more like a person, Mitchie realised as she focused a little. It was only when she saw a flash of black and electric blue hair and saw the distressed look on Jason's face as he turned around looking for help, that she finally worked out who it was and gasped.

"Layla." She whispered softly before hitting Shane repeatedly on the shoulder in an attempt to get him to stop. "Put me down! Put me down now!"

"Why?"He stopped suddenly and put her on the ground, checking for any signs of damage. "What's wrong? Did I hurt you or something?"

But Mitchie didn't answer she just ran off in the direction of Jason and the unconscious girl she'd grown to love like a sister.

Confused Shane turned around to try and find out why Mitchie had run off when he saw the two figures on the floor and instantly recognised the shocking blue of his little sister's hair. His face paled and he began running, faster than he'd ever run in his life, catching up with Mitchie as they finally came to a stop in front of Jason and Layla.

"What the hell happened?!" Shane yelled as he knelt beside his sister and his best friend while Mitchie put her medical skills into practice and started checking Layla out.

"I don't know." Jason whispered as he stared down at her pale face, tears in his eyes before he looked up to meet the panicked look of Shane and the others as they all crowded around her. "She was just standing there and the next thing I knew..."

"This shouldn't be happening. Not now... Not yet. I can't..." Shane whispered frantically as he ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly all the thoughts of his mother and the last years of her life came flashing through Shane's mind and it took all his strength not to cry out at the thought of the same thing happening to his little sister. Quickly his eyes darted up, swimming with anguish and anger, to meet Jason's. "You said you were watching her taking her meds!"

"I did!" Jason shouted back angrily. "I do!"

"Then why has she fainted?! This wouldn't have happened if she was taking her medication like you said she was doing!"

"Guys! Guys! Stop it!" Mitchie shouted, breaking them up as they turned to look at her. "She's starting to wake up."

They quickly glanced down and realised Mitchie was right. The colour was beginning to come back to Layla's face and her nose was twitching every so slightly the way it always did when she was about to wake up and her eyes, once still, began darting around frantically behind her closed eyelids.

"Layla?!" Shane called out touching the side of his sister's face in an attempt to wake her up. "La La wake up for me okay? You need to open your eyes. Please La La...wake up."

As the last frantic whisper came out of Shane's mouth her eyes fluttered open slightly and Shane let out a huge sigh of relief when she groaned and began opening her eyes fully.

"Oh God!" Shane shouted with relief as he leapt forward and hugged her tightly. "I was so scared. Don't ever do that to me again!"

"Well..." She began lightly. "If you don't let go on me in the next couple of seconds I mightn't have a choice."

Shane looked at her confused then realised just how tightly he was hugging her. With a sheepish grin he finally let go and she took a deep breath-happy to finally be able to breathe again without Shane the boa constrictor wrapped around her.

Layla laid there for a couple of minutes trying to regain her breath and focus her eyes again before she realised that somehow the world had become horizontal.

_How the hell did I end up lying down _she thought then everything came flooding back.

* * *

"_**Connie's catering's going camping!"She yelled excitedly and in that moment Layla felt like all the air had left her body...**_

_**And everything went black.**_

* * *

Suddenly she began hyperventilating-searching the room for the one person who would understand. She felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her and as his breath tickled her ear she instantly calmed down.

All anger she had towards him could wait until some other day because right now what she needed was the one person who knew exactly why the mere mention of "Connie's catering" would send her into hysterics (and not the good kind).

"It'll be okay Layla, I swear. I won't let anything happen to you." He whispered in her ear, just loud enough for her to her and although his voice calmed her down she couldn't help but whimper at the thought of what was going to happen.

Connie Torres was coming here and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Layla had practically lived at Connie's house up until she and Kyle broke up, there was no way Connie would forget her face...or what had happened. The second they set eyes on each other Connie would tell them and everything Layla had tried to keep hidden from her family and friends, to keep them happy, would suddenly be out into the open.

It was too much for her to deal with and she suddenly found herself needing support from the same person she'd tried to attack earlier that morning. To the surprise of everyone she suddenly threw her arms around Jason's neck and clung onto him for dear life as she buried her head into his chest.

He looked down at her for a second with a shocked expression before wrapping his arms around her tighter than before and lifted them both up, waiting for her to wrap her legs around him securely before moving off towards the kitchen.

"Where are you going?" Shane asked suspiciously as they all followed him to the back of the cabin.

"She's dehydrated." Jason lied smoothly. The last couple of days had done wonders for his lying skills and not even Nate could tell he wasn't telling the truth. "That's why she fainted. I'm gonna go get her a drink then see how things go from there."

"Well why can't you just leave her here with me?" Shane insisted stubbornly. "I'll look after her. I managed before didn't I?!"

Layla let out an almost inaudible whimper and clutched even tighter to Jason. Mitchie noticed this and reached out to put a hand on Shane's arm in an attempt to calm him down.

"Let them go Shane." She whispered softly causing Shane to whirl around to face her, his eyes blazing with fear and anger causing Mitchie to recoil slightly in shock. After everything they'd been through Mitchie always thought she'd see him looking his worst the day he found out about her lie but it was nothing compared to this.

It was like he was trapped in a world of his own, lost, alone and scared and for a fraction Mitchie couldn't help but think that he looked like a child again. A sad and lost child forced to grow up before his time to look after his sick mother and now facing the prospect of going through the same thing for his sister.

"Let them go! The last time those two were left alone in a kitchen they ended up fighting! It took me _and _Nate to finally prize her off him! She's just fainted! She needs rest she doesn't need..."

Mitchie leaned forward slowly and reached out to intertwine their fingers before leaning her forehead against his. She waited a couple of seconds as she felt him visibly start to relax before she continued.

"I know you're scared but you need to calm down. You saw the way she grabbed onto him. She needs him right now more than anything else and I know-_I know_-you want to be there for her but right now the best thing you can do is stay here. When she needs you she'll ask for you. For now you just have to be patient ...and wait."

"But..." Shane began desperately but Mitchie cut him off with a quick kiss on the lips.

"Let them go." She whispered softly on his lips before pulling away and squeezing his hand slightly and supportively, encouraging him to make the right decision.

Shane searched her eyes desperately for a while looking for any sign of weakness which he could use to his advantage but found none.

Sighing slightly he nodded and pulled back to look at his sister. He walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder, choosing to ignore the way she shook slightly when his hand made contact with her skin, he leant down and kissed her hair affectionately . It was something he always did when she needed comforting and for a fraction of a second her hold on Jason loosened and she relaxed before tensing up again as she remembered Connie's impending visit.

"Jase is going to look after you okay." He whispered softly as he locked eyes with his friend over the top of his sister's head. "He'll make sure that you're alright."

His friend nodded his head slightly at Shane before slowly moving away and making his out of the room.

* * *

Jason waited until he reached the kitchen and the door was shut firmly behind them before starting to speak.

"Layla do you think you can let me go for a second?" He asked softly and calmly as he waited patiently for her to release him. It took a while but eventually her arms slowly unwound from around his neck and she jumped down to the ground before grabbing his hand tightly at the last second. He smiled slightly, she hadn't let go completely but it was a start.

Slowly they stated making their way towards the sink and Jason grabbed a glass from the draining board, checking it was clean before running it under the cold tap and filling it up.

"Come on you'd better drink this. They'll get suspicious if they don't here the water running and it'll to you good." He said as he handed it to her.

She smiled gratefully and began drinking. Jason waited until she'd finished to take it off her and refill it. As he handed it back to her he casually brought up the subject of Connie's catering again and her whole body tensed as her grip on his hand turn almost vice like.

Suddenly she placed the glass on the table and grabbed onto him again for dear life. Jason sighed and stroked her back soothingly as he walked them back to the breakfast bar and sat down, waiting until she got comfortable curled up in his lap before he started speaking again.

"Layla I know you don't want to think about this but you've got to tell them. It's better if they hear it from you now than from someone else later."

She leaned back to look him in the eye and opened her mouth to start talking but Jason put a finger to her lips cutting her off.

"Ah ah before you start protesting let me finish. Connie's gonna be here in less than a week. It's something you're just going to have to accept and if you were as close to her as you say you were she's going to know who you are as soon as she sees you within a mile of us. Connie Torres is a clever woman and once she realises you live with us and sees the similarities between you and Shane she'll work out who you are and when that happens she _will_ tell them.

Connie's never been one to keep secrets from the ones she loves and the second she works out your Shane's sister she'll tell Shane and Mitchie what happened and there's no way of telling how it will turn out. At least if you tell them first they'll be able to hear what you want them to hear,then after that...well it's up to them what they'll do."

Layla nodded slightly into Jason's chest and he felt her tears begin to seep through his shirt.

"I just wanted everything to be okay." She whispered silently. "I want everything with me, Shane and Mitchie to be okay. They're the only family I have now."

"And it will be. You just have to tell them. At the end of the day Shane's still your brother and I've seen the way Mitchie is with you. She loves you like a sister. More so even. I've never seen anything like it. Not from Mitchie any way. If anything I think she's more protective of you than Shane is!"

Jason chuckled a little before becoming serious again.

"They're not going to abandon you over this. I'm positive. Sure it'll be a little awkward and tense for a while but he needs to know. They both do. The others-not so much. It's up to you whether you tell them or not. Whatever you choose I know they'll be behind you 100%, just like me, but Shane and Mitchie _need_ to know. It involves both your families and they deserve to know the truth once and for all."

"I don't want to ruin everything. Mitchie and Shane are perfect together! I don't want to be the one to ruin their relationship."

Jason grimaced a little.

"Believe me you won't."

Layla stopped sniffling into Jason's shirt and lifted her head to look him in the eye, a confused expression across her face.

"How can it not? I'm about to tell Shane that his brother in law mentally and physically abused his little sister. You know how protective he is and how angry he can get! I bet you anything he'll project that anger onto the closest thing he can get to Kyle and that's Mitchie. No! I wont be the one to ruin their marriage!"

He knew he shouldn't be telling her this but he needed to tell someone and he couldn't tell Mitchie and Caitlyn they were the last people in the world he could ever tell.

Jason sighed and ran a hand across his face before answering.

" You're not going to ruin their marriage because Tess is already planning to do it herself." Jason saw the confused expression on her face increase but chose to ignore it as he continued. " Tess isn't who you thinks she is. She's cruel, manipulative and out for revenge. That's why she bought you the dress and that's why we had to keep interrupting her earlier. She's planning on telling everyone our deepest, darkest secrets starting with Shane."

"Why what's she got against Shane?" Layla asked , instantly worried about what Tess had in store for her brother. She saw the reluctance on his face and scowled at him. "Tell me Jason. I want to know what she's got on my brother and don't start giving me this "_I can't tell you crap_" again!"

Jason groaned and stared at her for a second as he deliberated before finally making his mind up.

"Tess is planning on telling Mitchie that she and Shane dated after he found out that Mitchie lied..."

Before he could say anything more he heard a loud gasp and the pair turned in time to catch a glimpse of someone running out of the kitchen.

Jason's face went pale and he slowly turned to look back at Layla who was stunned into silence.

"Was that..."Jason said weakly and she nodded.

"And did she..."

Layla nodded again sadly.

"MITCHIE!"


	28. Chapter 26

**A/N: Hey he's the next chapter. usual disclaimer still applies (unfortunately! :P) **

**Hope you like it and thanks for reading and reviewing xoxo :P :P**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

Jason and Layla raced out of the kitchen at break neck speed and came skidding to a halt just in time to see Mitchie throw her hand back and slap Shane straight across the face.

The force behind it was so much that as her hand made contact with Shane's face his head automatically snapped back and the silent room resounded with the sound of it.

"You dated her?!" Mitchie screeched hysterically, as angry, hurt filled tears filled her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him and that..._Bitch_.

No one had ever seen her this mad before, not even Shane and he couldn't help but cower slightly at the madness in her eyes.

"After everything she did to me and how much of a bitch she was-_is_-you still dated her!"

It took Shane a second to work out what she was saying until it finally clicked and his eyes widened with panic, fear and a slight flicker of anger directed towards Tess who was currently standing in the corner smirking to herself at this sudden and explosive change in events.

He made a move to go near her but Mitchie slapped him back, fixing him with such a look that Shane felt like he was being burned alive. Whatever punishment he thought Tess had planned for them after finding the dress was nothing compared to what Mitchie was doing to him now and it was tearing him apart.

"I am so sorry Mitchie. I was just so confused and messed up I didn't know what to do."

"And you think I wasn't!" She screamed painfully, causing Shane to wince at the emotion in it." That was the worst moment in my life...well up to now."

Shane gasped at the truth in her words.

"Don't say that." He whispered. "Don't let a stupid mistake I made when I was 19 get in the way of everything we've done together! I love you Mitchie, not her and nothing is ever going to change that. No matter if I dated her before you or not...you're the one I love! NOT her."

Mitchie looked up at him, tears still glistening in her eyes. Silently Shane leaned forward gently with his hand. She leaned into his touch slightly and Shane breathed a sigh of relief as he pulled her to him tightly, loving the way her arms wrapped around him desperately as she tried to pull him as close to her as she could.

"Do you mean it?" She whispered so softly that Shane almost missed it.

Shane let out a painful sigh and rested his head on top of hers.

"Of course I mean it." He whispered back, never being more serious in his life. "I love you Mitchie Grace Torres Gray."

* * *

They stayed like that for what seemed like forever until the sound of clapping filled the silence in the room and they turned to see Tess, clapping and smirking at them evilly.

"How cute." She snapped sarcastically. "A couple of sweet words and some hugging and every thing's okay again. Typical Mitchie. Never could stand up for yourself could you? Always lying, always depending on your friends or your precious _Shane_ to sort you out!"

Mitchie went to lunge at her but Shane pulled her back whispering furiously into her ear over and over that she wasn't worth it until she finally calmed down.

"You know what Tess." Mitchie laughed angrily. "I never should have believed you changed. Once a bitch always a bitch!"

Tess put a hand to her heart, feigning hurt.

"Ouch Mitch that mouth of yours will get you in trouble one day. In fact I think today might just be that day. You see after that little show with Miss Slut back there..." She smirked when she saw them all tense up in anger at her description of Layla before continuing. "I couldn't help but feel sorry for you all. I was going to let it slide. For now at least but after that little display I can't help but think today would be sooo much better with a little bit of drama don't you?"

"Tess..." Jason growled warningly and she spun around to glare at him.

"Yes sweetie?" She asked innocently, reveling in the confused looks the others shared at the nickname.

"Don't. Do. It." He hissed through gritted teeth.

"Aww honey you didn't actually think that would work did you?"

She pouted for a second as if thinking before pointing at him.

"You know what? After that I think I might start with you and your little whore."

Jason tensed and his eyes automatically flickered to Layla who was trying her best not to attack the blonde in front of her before darting to look at Nate who instantly saw the desperation in his brother's eyes.

"Leave him alone Tess." Nate yelled angrily drawing her attention away from Jason and Layla and onto him. "In fact why don't you just leave us all alone. You've had you're fun now it's time to leave."

"Sweetie you're just afraid that if I hang around longer I'll let slip that you cheated on techo freak over their with me."

* * *

Their was a collective intake of air as everyone except Jason and Shane turned to look at the couple in the corner. For a second it was like time had stopped but like the calm before the storm in the blink of an eye all hell broke loose. In a split second Caitlyn turned around to face Nate and kneed him so hard in the balls that tears were coming to the other guy's eyes as they slowly but surely moved their hands in front of them in case she decided to turn on anyone else.

"Jesus Cait!" Nate managed to gasp out as he fell to the ground in pain. "What was that for?"

The group winced at Nate's choice of words as Caitlyn's face turned even redder with anger.

"What was that for?! You cheated on me with that...that slut and you want to know why I did it! Boy I'm gonna kick your ass!"

She would've done so as well if Peggy and Ella hadn't dragged her far away enough from both Tess and Nate for her to do any damage to either of them.

"What?! I didn't cheat on you! Do I look like I have a death wish?"

Nate saw his wife's eyes tighten a little and gulped as he cursed himself for his own stupidity at using such words to defend himself.

" Okay bad choice of words but please Cait... you gotta believe me! I _swear_ I didn't cheat on you!"

Tess scoffed and everyone turned to glare at her.

"Oh really then what would you call that night you turned up at my apartment 3 years ago begging for it-for me?"

"You got me blind drunk and seduced me!" He screamed angrily as Tess threw back one of the lowest points in his life back in his face.

He and Caitlyn had broken up for what seemed like the millionth time and when she hadn't come back after a couple of days like usual Nate thought it really was the end. After a couple of weeks he was permanently depressed and with everyone else busy or dealing with their own problems Nate turned to the one person he had left. Tess. He regretted it almost instantly and the next day when Caitlyn came back he resolved never to think about it again.

"I don't even know what happened. Not really all i know is what you told first I even heard about it was when you turned up at my house the next day claiming you had proof!"

"It doesn't excuse it!" She snapped back. " You still slept with me even though you were dating her!"

"We were on a break..." Nate began weakly but the second those words were out of his mouth he regretted it.

The rest of the group did too as they groaned again and shook their heads sadly.

"It didn't work with Rachel in _**FRIENDS**_ and it sure as hell won't work with me!" Caitlyn yelled. "The second we get back home I am divorcing your ass! You better spend as much time as you can with your guitars because believe me, when I'm finished with you, you'll be lucky if I just leave you the strings!"

With one final shriek of anger Caitlyn turned on her heel and stormed out of the back entrance of the cabin slamming the door behind her with such force that the cabin visibly shook.

They all stared at the door for a second before turning their heads towards Nate who was standing shell shocked in the middle of the room-no doubt still trying to work out what had happened. Then suddenly as if by magic it finally clicked and his whole face fell before he swore loudly and raced out of the house at such a speed that he was just a blur as he raced by them.

* * *

After that all hell broke loose. Mitchie's barely contained anger had reached it's limit and (ignoring Shane's advice) she yanked herself out of his arms and stormed up to Tess smacking her around the face with so much force that it made the one she gave Shane earlier look like a gentle tap. Before she could inflict any more damage though the others had pulled them apart. Not out of care towards the blonde (even Peggy and Ella were looking at her with disgust that rivaled the others) but because, Brown (who up to now) hadn't noticed what was happening, had been drawn to the room by the loud noise and the last thing they wanted was for Mitchie to get fired.

"What's going on here?" He asked suspiciously as he gazed around the room and took in the varying looks of anger, hurt and betrayal portrayed on their faces.

"Nothing." Layla jumped in quickly, her voice holding a strange sense of authority and calmness as it rang through the silence of the room. "Tess has decided that she can't stay here any longer and is about to leave. Isn't that right Tess?"

Tess opened her mouth to argue but something in Layla's eyes warned her off and she nodded dejectedly, shooting them all a look of malice as she did so.

"Yeah. Turns out I have a couple of tour dates over the summer and I wont be able to stay."

Brown sighed.

"Well I'm not going to say I'm not disappointed. You made a promise to be a councilor here but I understand that this is a purely volunteer based camp whereas your career is very important to you. I'm sure we can find someone at short notice to cover your lessons until more suitable arrangements can be made."

Tess nodded slowly never once taking her eyes off Layla's, almost as if something in her eyes had caused her to go into some sort of trance while the others watched in astonishment.

"Well now that's sorted out I'd better go into the office and start calling in some favours. I may have a catering company thanks to the wonderful Mitchie but now it looks like I'm in need of a new councilor... so if you'll excuse me..."

* * *

Layla waited until she heard the office door slam shut and knew that Brown couldn't hear what was happening anymore before walking confidently up to Tess and grabbing her by the arm, leading her forcefully towards the front door of the cabin, making sure she grabbed Tess' purse along the way. Without removing her firm grip once, she managed to rummage through her purse for the keys to her Porsche and opened the front door in one graceful almost rehearsed movement. The only time she wasn't in contact with Tess' arm was when she opened the car door and forcefully shoved her into the driver's seat.

Leaning down to stick the key in the ignition she hovered halfway up and whispered in the blonde's ear with such forcefulness and seriousness that even the formidable was Tess Tyler couldn't help but be unsettled by it.

"You have an hour to get your shit out of here and never come back. If not I'll do it for you and believe me it wont be pretty.

I've dealt with bigger bitches than you before and do doubt I will again. You are nothing but a spoilt little Mommy's girl throwing a tantrum because she didn't get what she wants. Don't mess with me Tess because I will break you.

They might put up with your shit but I wont!"

Tess cackled and looked at the teenager with fire in her eyes.

"I guess you'd know all about being a bitch wouldn't you _LJ_? Or do you prefer to go by Layla now you've become little miss perfect?

Wrecking cars, underage binge drinking, fighting at school, being suspended for having sex under the bleachers with your friend's boyfriend and all before the age of 15! Very clever! No wonder you don't like to use the name attached to that part of your past much these days.

It's funny. Your brother and everyone seems to know everything about the sweet, caring, innocent Layla Jayne but how much do you think they _really_ know about LJ apart from that she teaches a couple of dancing lessons a week? I'm sure if they knew more about _her_ they'd realise just how sweet and innocent you really are."

Layla laughed bitterly and leaned closer to Tess as her eyes suddenly shifted colour, the bright blue replaced with navy as she tried to keep her barely contained anger under wraps.

"Did you think that little stunt would really scare me? Big whoop! You did your research. So what?! Jason told me _everything_..."

Tess gaped at her and Layla smirked. It wasn't often that Tess Tyler got caught out and Layla was loving every minute of it.

"Yeah I bet you weren't expecting that were you? I know everything. I know all about your little plan to blackmail the guys, the information you dug up about me and my past so that you could use me to get closer to them. I know Tess and I'm telling you...it ends now. Game over. You lose."

Tess looked at her, speechless for a minute before leaning back in her seat and letting out a deep breath, shaking her head slightly in disbelief.

"Wow I can't believe he told you himself that really takes some guts!"

Layla was confused but went along with it anyway, nodding in agreement. She had absolutely no idea what Tess was saying but any sign of confusion would be seen as weakness and with Tess so close to leaving there was no way that Layla was going to give her a way to worm herself back in and cause more damage.

This though,seemed to give Tess the incentive she needed to keep on talking.

"I mean to come out and tell you that Shane and Nate forced him into changing his mind about Musical jam and how he and Nate talked Shane into leaving you behind..."

Tess was cut off by a loud gasp and looked up to see the painful look on Layla's face as tears came to her eyes.

"He didn't tell you that did he?"

Layla shook her head sadly, tears streaming down her face as all signs of the the strong willed LJ which had dealt with Tess earlier disappeared leaving, vulnerable, innocent Layla in her place.

Tess sighed deeply as her eyes filled with sympathy towards her.

"I'm sorry Layla I really am. I never wanted you to know that. I threatened them with it of course just to get a reaction but I'd never be cruel enough to tell you. Not really. I may be a bitch but I'm not completely heartless. I know this doesn't help much but I do actually like you...I don't want to see you get hurt."

"Tell me." She whispered desperately. "Please. I need to know."

Tess looked at her cautiously for a second before starting.

"When Shane and Nate pulled Jason out for a team meeting that night-I followed them. I was hoping that I might be able to pick up some dirt about their new album or something and leak it to the press but I heard them talking about you instead.

They noticed something was up between you and Jason-I did too but it wasn't until that day I saw you making out in the dance cabin that I worked out what...but that doesn't matter. The point is they forced him into changing his mind...into not performing with you.

At first he refused and Shane seemed to give up but when he left Nate managed to convince him by saying that Jason was wrong for liking you and that if anyone ever found out, especially Shane, the band would fall apart...and Jason agreed. He promised not to do Musical Jam with you for the sake of Connect 3 and his friends."

Layla gulped a little, blinking back the tears before talking again.

"And the other thing?"

Tess sighed again.

"While I was doing some checking I found out something. About your mum's will. Shane told you that he was your sole guardian right?"

Layla nodded weakly.

"And that if no other blood relative could look after you you were to be placed into care?"

Layla nodded again.

"Well that was all a lie."

Layla's head shot up and she glared at Tess for a second with watery eyes before shaking her head furiously in disbelief.

"No I don't believe you. He wouldn't lie to me about something like that. Why would he lie to me about something like that?"

Tess sighed.

"I dunno. Maybe he thought he was protecting you or something I don't know all I know is it was all a lie. Shane wasn't your sole guardian. Your mum knew Shane was too young to look after you all on his own especially right after her death. She knew he'd be a mess and that he wouldn't be able to cope on his own so she stated in her will that you were to have joint custody."

"And what's that got to do with Jason and Nate?"

"It's got_ everything _to do with Jason and Nate because guardianship was meant to be shared between your brother and the Carters."

Layla shook her head in disagreement.

"No that can't be true. Sandy wouldn't have let me go if that was true."

"Except Sandy's not a Carter. Not anymore. She married her husband a couple of months before your mother's death and became Sandra White. The will specifically stipulated that only your brother and the _Carters_ were to have custody over you or you were to be placed into care. Sandy was no longer a Carter so it didn't apply to her."

" That's ridiculous! Of course it would apply to her! All she had to do was go to any lawyer and I'm sure they would've sorted it all out!"

"Except she never knew. The decision had already been made before she even found out."

"Wait. I'm confused. So what does this all mean?"

Tess sighed and patted her hand sympathetically.

"It means it wasn't just Shane's decision to put you into care. He needed permission from the other co guardians and with Nate still being a minor and Sandy not knowing it meant..."

Layla gasped shakily.

"It was Jason." She whispered monotonously. "Jason was the one who convinced Shane to leave me behind."

Tess nodded her head sympathetically.

"Nate and Jason convinced Shane that the best thing for them all was for you to leave and Shane agreed."

"No!" Layla hissed forcefully as she backed away from Tess, shaking her head furiously in disbelief as her tears increased. "I don't believe you. I _can't_ believe you! They wouldn't...they couldn't.."

"Layla..."

"You know what?!" She shouted loudly backing away fully and slamming the car door forcefully behind her. "I changed my mind! I can't bare to stand here any longer and listen to your vile, _disgusting_ lies any longer! You've got 45 minutes to get your stuff and leave...now!"

"I am so sorry Layla I..."

"Leave." Layla hissed, her hands clenched up angrily by her sides as she stared at her ground, unable to look up. "Now."

"Just ask them they'll..."

"I SAID LEAVE!" She screamed angrily finally looking up from the ground, her hurt angry eyes connecting with Tess' sympathetic ones.

The blonde nodded solemnly as she looked at her for a second before turning the engine over and driving away in a cloud of smoke.

Layla watched until she became a speck on the horizon before slowly closing her eyes in an attempt to block everything out and stop the tears from streaming down her face as she turned around to face the others who had gathered outside the cabin to watch with shock as Tess drove away into the distance.

The second Layla opened her eyes and locked onto Jason and Shane's worried expressions she knew she'd never have to ask them because every word Tess had said was 100% true. As their eyes connected Jason and Shane seemed to understand what had happened and their worried expression was soon replaced with one of desperation as they tried to make their way towards her before she did something stupid.

Unfortunately for them Layla wasn't in a very co operative mood and although it mightn't have been seen as stupid nor could it be viewed as smart because instead of staying and listening to what they had to say Layla did the only thing she thought she could do in this situation.

She ran.


	29. Chapter 27

**A/N: hey! sorry it's been so long sicne I updated you wont believe the amount of rewrites I've written for this chapter only to decide that I liked the original one the most. So I've tweaked it a little and hopefully made it loads better...I think it is anyway. **

**I'd love to know what you think so please read and review and thanks to everyone who has done so already and continues to read "The other Gray". You're all amazing for reading this and putting up with my lack of updating so THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!**

**Lol. Anyway. I really hope you like this. I've made a start on the next chapter but with my over reactive imagination and exams coming up next month (OMFG!) it may be a while until I update again. So enjoy! :P**

* * *

Chapter 27

"Oh My God I am so glad that you're here!" Mitchie yelled excitedly as she yanked open the front door and hurled herself at the bemused woman standing in front of her.

"So am I sweetie." Connie Torres hugged her daughter back once she'd gotten over the shock. "But it would've been nice to have actually gotten as far as to have knocked on the door before you attacked me."

Mitchie gasped and pulled away looking at her mother sheepishly.

"Sorry it's just I was so excited to see you and it's been ages!-I'm really sorry about that by the way! With medical school, helping the guys out when their on tour, coming to camp things have been a little hectic and..."

Connie Torres chuckled slightly at her second eldest daughter before calmly putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Honey I get it. You don't have to apologise. You've got your own life now. One that doesn't need your old fuddy duddy mother."

"Aww mum you're not old!...or a fuddy duddy!" Mitchie exclaimed, adding the last part as a precaution before she rushed over and gave her mother another hug "And I'm always gonna need you...more now than ever."

"What was that honey?"

"Nothing..." Mitchie mumbled into her mother's shoulder. "It's nothing."

Connie pulled Mitchie away from her and at arms length began examining her daughter with a suspicious look. Suddenly she gasped and a wide smile spread across her face.

"Oh my God you're pregnant!"

Mitchie's eyes widened.

"What?! No! No I'm not! I swear to God I'm not. Mum you've gotta believe me!"

"Ah" Connie said nodding her head in understanding and tapped the side of her nose in a conspiratorial kind of way. "You haven't told Shane yet. It's OK. I understand. I promise I wont say a word."

"What! No Mum I swear I'm not pregnant and I don't have to tell Shane anything. There is no baby!"

Connie's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Who said anything's wrong?" Mitchie asked in a high tone before nibbling on her bottom lip.

"Ah ah! Now I_ know_ there's something wrong!" Connie exclaimed defiantly. "You Mitchie Torres Gray have so many tells I've always known when there was something wrong with you!"

"Tell? What tell?! I don't have any tells!"

Connie sighed and shot her daughter a disbelieving look.

"Since I've got here you've rambled like a chipmunk on speed, your voice has risen so high that dogs 30 miles away can hear you and you've bit you're lip so hard it's bleeding."

Mitchie stopped biting and touched her finger to her lip, groaning in defeat when she saw the smudge of blood on it.

"You're right. Something's really... _really _ wrong."

Connie looked at her smugly.

"See I told you! And to think you doubted me! I'm your mother. I'm always right. Now let me in so we can try and get this all sorted out."

Mitchie smiled warmly and hugged her mother again.

"God I have no idea what I would do without you!"

"Well luckily you'll never have to deal with that, now come on-shift!"

* * *

"So." Connie started slowly 20 minutes later once they'd settled down in the kitchen each sipping on a glass of lemonade. "You gonna tell me what's got you so wound up or am I gonna have to go get it out of Caitlyn."

Mitchie groaned and banged her head off the coffee table.

"Please don't talk to me about Caitlyn I can only deal with one problem at a time!"

Connie sighed.

"What happened this time?"

"She and Nate had a _huge_ fight."

Connie scoffed and waved it off.

"Please! Those two fight all the time! They're like... they're like... coke and mentos. That's it! Coke and mentos! Put them together and BANG! I honestly don't know how those two manage to stay together for so long."

"They love each other mum!"

"Oh yeah that might have something to do with it. So what happened this time? Nate didn't accidentally vacuum up her cat again? Oh my God she set his hair on fire again didn't she!?"

"It was an eyebrow mum and, like with the cat, it was a complete accident... and in both cases the hair grew back fine...although Mr Fluffykins tail did have a little bit of a kink in it afterwards. Anyway that's not the point! This fight is huge! Like _cataclysmic _ huge!"

"It can't be that big of a deal."

"She threatened his guitars."

" What... _all_ of them?"

Mitchie nodded and Connie let off a low whistle as she shook her head sadly.

"Damn. He must've done something _really_ stupid!"

"You think?!" Mitchie shot back sarcastically.

"But what are you so worried about? It's not like this is the first time they've argued like this before. All you've got to do is wait it out and hope things fix themselves before they end up in a divorce court."

Mitchie sighed despondently.

"I know that! But like I said I can only deal with one problem at a time and right now...well..."

"There's more than one?" Connie added helpfully and Mitchie nodded glumly.

"It's like someone's decided that I haven't had enough drama in my life already so decided to give me a whole Pandora's _freaking_ box of it!"

"Whoa! Mitchie calm down. Take a deep breath and tell me what's happened."

Mitchie did as she was told before letting out a loud groan and covering her face with her hands.

"I have no idea where to start." She mumbled sadly.

"Well..." Connie smiled warmly as she lent forward and gently removed Mitchie's hands from her face before tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear affectionately. "I always believe that the beginning is the best."

Mitchie smiled slightly and gave her mother a wary look.

"It's a long story."

"I've got time."

Mitchie sighed and leaned back further in her chair, taking a sip of her drink before starting.

"Well...I guess it all started with Shane's sister and Jason singing together..."

"Wait! Shane has a sister?!"

Mitchie sighed distractedly.

"Yeah-Well half sister really. Her name's Layla. She's 17. I know... it came as a surprise to me as well when I found out. She's been in care for the last 7 years but now she's back with Shane and it was a little tough getting to know her at the beginning but she's absolutely amazing. Trust me mum you'll love her....but that's not the point. The point is Layla and Jason, they sang together, and they were AMAZING! I mean seriously. _Way _ better than me and Shane-"

"I doubt that!" Connie interrupted fiercely. Although Mitchie had an amazing singing voice which had sold millions of records all across the world for both her and Connect 3 they still found it difficult to prove to her just how talented she really was.

"You and Shane are amazing together. You always have been amazing Mitchie and you always will be. Don't _ever_ doubt that. It's like your voices were _made_ to be together."

"That's exactly what I thought abut Jason and Layla!" She screamed excitedly, glad someone else could understand the way she felt. She had tried to explain it to the others at the time but they just didn't seem to be able to grasp just how strongly she felt about it.

"I never knew what you meant when you said that about me and Shane but now I truly understand! When I heard them singing it was like...like heaven. But then Shane and Nate's stupidity went and ruined it all!"

Connie's face contorted with confusion as she looked at her daughter's expression of bitterness and sadness.

"What do you mean?"

"They dragged Jason away and basically tortured him into changing his mind!"

"Oh come on now! I don't believe that for a second! Jason may not be the sharpest tool in the box but he wouldn't let Shane or Nate do anything to him that wasn't warranted!"

"They took him out to the shed, locked him in and said if he didn't change his mind that people would think that he and Layla were dating and people would get a "_bad impression"_ of him."

"As in..."

"As in not only would people think he was romantically involved with a minor but also that he was breaking the camper/councilor relationship rule and you know how much of a stickler Brown is for _that_ particular rule."

Connie nodded her head in understanding as she remembered the first summer Shane and Mitchie came back to Camp Rock as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Shane had come back as a councilor along with the rest of Connect 3 while Mitchie and the rest of the gang had come back as campers. Shane and Mitchie expected it to be the best summer of their lives but within hours of arriving at camp it became the summer from hell.

Brown had insisted that Shane and Mitchie weren't to have any contact with each other after a camper complained to their parents about unfair treatment (2 guesses what camper_ that _ was) and so the "no camper/councilor relationship" rule was created. Those first few days as they fought their case to be together to no avail had been some of the roughest any of them had been through and her forehead furrowed in worry at the thought of the same thing happening to Jason-especially if their was no need for it.

"Oh I know exactly what you're talking about. How could ever forget?! Now let me guess? The boy folded?"

"Like a pack of cards! One word from Nate claiming that the band would lose their contract and Shane would kick his ass and he caved!"

" Well that's unfortunate but how exactly is this causing you so much trouble? And I've yet to hear how this has got anything to do with Caitlyn and Nate."

"Wait a minute! I told you this story was long! God! You're so impatient! Now I know where I get it from."

Connie's eyes narrowed.

"Mitchie Grace you may be 23 and married but don't think you'll _ever_ be old enough to sass me!"

"Sorry mum." She mumbled shamefully under Connie's authoritative gaze.

"So you were saying?"

"I was?" Mitchie looked at her confused for a second before finally working it out. "Oh yeah! So Jason gave in like the gutless wonder he is and all hell broke loose. Because Layla...well to say she's a lot like Shane would be an understatement. That's probably why we all get on she well with her but unfortunately she shares a lot of his bad traits as well..."

"Stubborn little thing isn't she?" Connie smirked knowingly at the expression on Mitchie's face.

"As a mule! I swear sometimes she's worse than him and that's really saying something. And you know what he's like! That girl...well sometimes she's just too stubborn for her own good!

Anyway she found out that Jason had lied to her about not being able to sing with her and wouldn't give up until Jason blabbed..."

"Ah I get it now." Connie nodded in understanding Finally glad she'd gotten to the root of her daughter's troubles.

"Jason told and now Layla's pissed and making everyone's lives a living hell. Typical teenage tantrum. All you need to do is..."

"No that's not it."

Connie's eyes widened in surprise.

"It isn't?"

Mitchie shook her head slowly.

"Surprisingly no...well...sort of. Not over this anyway. For once he actually held his ground. Layla may share some of her brother's skills but the one thing she doesn't share is _the_ look. Not that one anyway.

Oh no she's got one of her own, much more frightening and troubling but completely useless in this type of situation. She didn't have _the _ look so Jason held strong and put up with all Layla's crap just to protect Shane and his brother."

"Wow." Connie breathed, truly shocked by this turn of events. "That was the last thing I expected! I never knew he had it in him!"

"I know but it gets better...or worse...depending on your perspective I guess."

Mitchie's forehead scrunched up in thought at this but she quickly shook it off and continued with her story.

Connie's eyebrows raised in amusement at this but she leaned in closer as she listened closely, desperate to find out what happened next.

"So Layla's acting completely bitchy to Jason for like 3 days, never speaking to him unless he talks to her first and always giving him short, clipped answers. I mean before they were like glued to each others sides and then all of a sudden she couldn't stand to even be in the same room with him for more than a couple of minutes. It was weird.

But then one morning-that morning I called you asking to come do the catering-they had this huge argument over God knows what and Layla ends up covered head to toe in all kinds of stuff attacking Jason in the middle of the hallway."

"Wow this Layla really is like her brother." Connie said dryly, referring to the time not so long ago when she walked in on Caitlyn and Mitchie trying to pry Nate and Shane off each other after a fight broke out in their living room, but having little success in doing so.

Until Mrs Torres stepped in and helped them out of course. Something she never let them forget causing Mitchie to groan as she banged the palm of her hand against her forehead.

"How many times do I have to tell you? It was pre wedding stress and Nate started it! Shane never meant to bump into those guitars, Nate just flipped out and charged at him. Shane was defending himself! It was only after Nate messed up his hair that things got out of control and even then we managed to sort things out without any major damage. No harm no foul right?"

Mitchie saw the look on her mother's face and knew she wasn't buying it but that was conversation for another time. Right now she had to deal with the matter at hand.

"You know what that's not the point right now. The important part of this is the dress!"

"What dress?"

"The one Layla was wearing when she was fighting with Jason! Tess brought it for her and it..."

"Tess? Tess Tyler?! Aww Mitchie! You let that evil harpy get her claws into that poor girl! If it wasn't bad enough that she's been in care, separated from those that she loved but then you let her be around Tess?!

That girl's a grade A bitch! I could tell from the second I laid eyes on her!"

"Mum!"

Mitchie exclaimed with embarrassment, not used to her caring, loving mother using such language about someone else but she quickly got over it once she realised the truth in it.

"You're right though. Tess completely wigged out about the whole dress thing and finally snapped, revealing her "_dastardly plan_ " to the guys..."

Connie's eyebrows raised at this and she smirked slightly.

" _Dastardly plan_ ?"

"Yeah you know...the usual. Blackmail...deception...corruption of innocent young minds etc..."

"Ah. So it was Tess and her _"dastardly plan"_ that caused all this drama then."

Mitchie winced slightly and Connie groaned, knowing instantly that her hypothesis had been wrong and there was more to come.

"Not exactly. You see it was more Jason's fault really...and I might have helped out a little...but only a little! And totally unintentionally! You know it's just sometimes I can't keep an handle on my temper and..."

Connie sighed deeply and began rubbing the bridge of her nose as she felt a headache coming on.

"Just...tell me what happened."

"Well Jason kinda told Layla all about what Tess was up to and yours truly just happened to be listening in..."

Connie gasped in horror and slammed her hands down on the table in anger as she stared intently at her daughter.

"Mitchie Grace Torres Gray were you snooping?!"

Not intentionally!" Mitchie exclaimed in defence.

If there was one thing Mitchie learned growing up it was that out of all the pet peeves her mother had lying and eavesdropping were top of the list.

"Layla had just fainted and I was checking to see if she was okay. Honestly..."

Mrs Torres looked at her suspiciously but indicated for her to continue.

"Anyway." Mitchie carried on, trying to shake off the intent look her mother was giving her. "Jason had just got to the part where he was telling Layla that Tess and Shane dated that first year at Camp Rock..."

"WHAT!?" Connie exploded loudly. "Where is that boy?! I'm gonna beat some sense into him once and for all!"

Mitchie rolled her eyes.

"Mum just calm down! It's sorted. And believe me...once I'm finished with him he'll wince every time he even thinks of the name Tess Tyler...or more importantly...his wallet will. And believe me with Shane...that's where it will hurt the most."

"Continue." She snipped tersely as she finally sat back down. She wasn't completely mollified by the plans Mitchie seemed to have in store for her husband but at the moment Connie was more concerned with finding out what had got Mitchie so frazzled.

Beating some sense into lover boy could wait until later and it was something Connie was sure her husband and Mitchie's father Steve would be more than happy to help her with.

"Oh yeah!" Mitchie exclaimed suddenly remembering what they were talking about. Connie rolled her eyes slowly. She loved her daughter but Mitchie's attention span was less than to be desired!

"So, like you, I completely flipped out and started this huge shouting match with Shane in front of everyone-Tess included."

"Is this the part where her "_dastardly plan_ " comes into action?"

Mitchie nodded.

"Tess wasn't too happy about Shane managing to calm me down so quickly so she turned her attention onto everyone else-starting with Nate and Caitlyn."

Connie's face paled significantly.

"I think I know where this is going."

Mitchie's eyes widened in astonishment.

"You knew?!"

Connie nodded sadly.

"He came to me a couple of days after it happened. Apparently Tess turned up on his doorstep the next day and told him that she intentionally got him drunk and slept with him to create a rift between him and Caitlyn.

He didn't really go into much detail but from what I could make of it it sounded like she was blackmailing him. Using him to get favours that only Nate from Connect 3 could get. Apparently even being Tess Tyler, big time singer and daughter of TJ Tyler still isn't good enough in showbiz.

I told him to tell Caitlyn but he said he couldn't. Said Caitlyn would never forgive him and he couldn't stand to see her get hurt. God I've never seen him look so bad before! Poor Nate. He really didn't mean to do it you know. It doesn't excuse it...but he really loves that girl...he'd do anything to keep her happy."

Mitchie nodded sympathetically.

"I know. I just wish Caitlyn did too. She wont believe him and now Nate's chasing her around like some lost little puppy begging for forgiveness and she won't even talk to him. It's been 3 days and it's driving him and the rest of us crazy! Sure she's been angry with him before but three days with no speaking at all...not even shouting...that's serious mum!"

Connie leaned across the table and squeezed Mitchie's hand affectionately.

"Mitchie, honey, I know they're your best friends and you want to help them but you need to let go. This is something that they need to sort out on their own. I know I said earlier that those two are like coke and mentos but sometimes you need that. It makes life less boring.

They may fight a lot and you may find yourself caught in the fall out but together they create something...special. Coke and mentos are great on their own but together well...together they create something spectacular-messy- but spectacular. All you can do is sit back, watch and hope it doesn't cause too much trouble."

Mitchie smiled weakly.

"Thanks mum. Who would've known that one of your strange metaphors would make me feel so much better."

* * *

Connie laughed at this and Mitchie soon joined in but their laugher was cut short by the sound of loud pounding on solid wood and Shane's loud booming voice.

"Layla open this damn door right now!"

The was a pause for a moment before a muffled "Fuck you Shane" could be heard from the other side of the door followed by further shouting and banging from Shane which was quickly drowned out by the sound of pumping music coming from the teenager's room.

Mitchie groaned again and let her head fall onto the table.

"I'm guess this is also something to do with Tess or has Shane's sister always been this..._delicate_ ?"

Mitchie sighed and thought for a second before answering.

"You know how I said things were complicated...between Layla and Shane?"

Connie nodded.

"Well that was an understatement." There was a loud sound like a door being knocked off it's hinges, followed by the sound of music abruptly being turned off and other round of shouting.

Mitchie sighed again.

" A _huge_ understatement!"

"Go on."

"Well when Layla found out the real reason why Jason couldn't sing with her she went into hysterics and ran off- especially when she heard that Shane and Nate had something to do with it.

Things have been rocky between Shane and Layla but this was the final nail in the coffin. Any trust shared between the two was completely obliterated when Layla found out the truth about what happened that night."

"God, poor Layla! She must have felt terrible when she found out!"

Mitchie nodded in agreement.

"I know. And it doesn't help that that girl has some _serious _ abandonment and trust issues. She was beginning to work through them too before all this happened. Letting us get closer to her again...especially me, Shane and Jason..."

"But..." Connie prompted.

"But...Thanks to Tess she found out about the real reason why Jason pulled out of Musical Jam."

"And that warranted all of this drama?"

"No but the fact that Layla went completely off the rails and got arrested might have had something to do with it."

Connie's eyes almost fell out of her sockets and she spluttered on the mouthful of lemonade she was attempting to swallow.

"Good God. This kid is more like Shane than I realised!"

Mitchie narrowed her eyes and glared at her mother. Connie loved Shane like a son but at the end of the day she always had her daughters best interests at heart therefore watched Shane's every move with a keen eye. Although she knew he'd changed she (like many others) was always on the look out for any signs of him returning to his bad boy partying ways.

"Do you want me to continue or not?" She snapped.

Connie nodded her head enthusiastically indicating her to continue.

_Mitchie was right. This story had so many twists, turns and unbelievable plot lines that it really was beginning to sound like a soap opera!_

"Well after Tess had finished with Nate and Caitlyn we thought it was over. Layla had managed to get her out of the cabin and into her car. The key was in the ignition and raring to go when suddenly everything went wrong. They had some sort of stand off-I don't know what happened, she wont tell us-but Tess drove off into the sunset and Layla ran off not long afterwards without a word to anyone.

We were going crazy trying to look for her especially when we got back to the cabin and found Shane's car and its keys missing but there wasn't much we could do. Not until Shane got a phone call from her friend and the local police department..."

"Oh no...I think I know where this is heading."

Mitchie pulled a face.

"You're right this would be the bit where she got done for under age drinking, resisting arrest and DUI but it's not exactly what you were thinking. Layla _did _ get arrested but it wasn't exactly in the type of situation you would expect."

"Why what happened?"

"Well turns out Tess knew quite a lot. More than the rest of us did actually. Not only did she know about the real reason why Jason couldn't sing with Layla but she also found out that Shane had lied to Layla about how she'd ended up in care.

Shane always told Layla that he had sole custody but that wasn't true. It was joint... Nate and Jason did too..."

"But Nate would've only been 13 at the time! He was still a minor himself there was no way he could have looked after Layla too!"

"Exactly so is would've been up to Shane and Jason to look after her but with the band just about to go on tour they made a team decision and came to the conclusion that the best thing for everyone was to leave Layla behind.

The plan had been only to leave her for a year but then Shane went off the rails and when he finally sorted himself out he was so worried he'd relapse that he didn't go back for her for 7 years."

Connie gasped and shook her head sadly.

"That's terrible! Poor Layla."

Mitchie nodded in agreement.

"I know, no wonder the girl has abandonment issues. We thought she was finally getting over them but this..well you can sort of understand...she kind of snapped and with none of us there to stop her she managed to sneak into a club with one of her friends from camp and you can probably tell what happened when she got there."

Connie's forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"I don't get it. Why is Shane so angry? That boy got into more trouble when he was a teenager than I can remember. Surely sneaking into a bar and getting a little drunk..although serious...wouldn't be that big of a deal for him."

"Except Layla's on...four... different types of medication _all_ of which require that she doesn't drink. More than that they specifically state they shouldn't be mixed with alcohol as they may create irrational behaviour and...hallucinations."

"Uh oh."

Mitchie nodded.

"Couple of shots of vodka and the girl was out of it! We're not quite sure what happened before the police found her as Layla doesn't remember or just wont tell us but somehow she'd managed to leave the club and her friend behind before crashing Shane's car into a lamppost a mile down the road. When the police found her the car was completely totalled on the side of the road, the back doors wide open and she'd disappeared into the night.

They caught up with her half an hour later standing on someone's roof fully kitted out in bright pink fairy wings proclaiming that she was Tinkerbell and that she could fly. By this time Layla's friend had already called Shane and he arrived just in time to see half the police department hovering around, waiting for her to jump . It took him almost an hour to convince her that she wasn't Tinkerbell and talk her down off the roof then another 20 minutes to chase her around the block and keep her still enough for the police to put the cuffs on her.

They didn't come home until early the next morning after Shane managed to talk them out of pressing charges and they'd made a quick trip to ER at the local hospital to make sure there wasn't any lasting damage.

God I don't know what he was feeling more-angry or heartbroken at seeing his sister like that."

They heard a loud crash and turned to face the door where the screaming had increased.

Mitchie and Connie grimaced.

"I'm guessing he's settled on angry."

Mitchie nodded sadly and Connie couldn't help but feel sorry for her and the mess she'd suddenly found herself in.

"Yep he seemed to have settle on that when she stormed into our room this morning and informed us that she's moving out."

There was another loud crash followed by a cry of anger which made Mitchie and her mother flinch before all went quiet again.

Connie saw the tears collecting in her daughter's eyes and felt her heart constrict with pain at seeing her daughter his way before she leaned across the table and hugged her tightly.

"God I'm so glad you called me Mitch! I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I wasn't here to help you through this. You may be a grown up now but you'll always be my baby and this is _way_ too much for you to handle on your own."

"Thanks mum." Mitchie sighed gratefully as she hugged her mother back. "You have no idea how great it sounds for you to say that!"

"Well I'm here as long as you need me. Don't you forget that."

Their was another loud crash followed by even louder screaming and yelling from the hallway as Mitchie let go and stood up slowly.

"Could you hold onto that thought for a second I gotta go sort something out."

Connie nodded slightly.

"Of course and remember I'll be here when you need to talk."

Mitchie smiled slightly before taking a deep breath and opening the kitchen door, Suddenly the sound got even louder and Connie gasped as she heard the sound of glass smashing into solid brick wall.

"You're such a dick Shane! God I can't believe I wasted my 7 years of my life waiting around for you!"

"Well guess what?! You did and now I'm here so DEAL WITH IT AND GET YOUR ASS BACK IN THIS CABIN!"

Mitchie rolled her eyes and shot her mother a withering look.

"Duty calls." She sighed before closing the door behind her and suddenly three angry voices could be heard as Mitchie attempted to shout some sense into the two hot headed Gray's but Connie wasn't paying attention.

Not anymore.

That voice...It sounded so familiar but Connie couldn't quite put her finger on it.

It took her a while but the second she heard Shane's sister scream her hatred for him (using her own brand of colourful and imaginative language) Connie finally realised where she'd heard that voice before and her eyes widened in shock and horror. She gasped and suddenly her blood ran ice cold.

_No! It couldn't be!_

But there was no other explanation. No other person would have the imagination or attitude to use language like that. She knew that voice and not because she'd heard it in the background of one of Mitchie's phone calls or seen her in one of Connect 3's early videos...oh no Connie knew that voice because she knew the person it belonged to.

Quite well in fact.

She'd seen her eating in her kitchen, smiling and laughing with her friends in the park, her arms wrapped around her boyfriend as they slow danced at his senior prom...seen her go crazy and scream at said boyfriend when she found out the truth...seen how pale she was when she was lying in that hospital bed just hours after being attacked and left to die by the same person she screamed at only weeks before hand.

Connie Torres knew that voice because it was the voice that haunted her and her family every day.

It was LJ.

* * *

"Oh God...No! This can't be happening not now!" She muttered as she frantically scrambled around searching for her phone and finally finding it buried at the bottom of her bag. With speed she never knew she possessed she began punching in the number she knew oh so well and put the phone to her ear, tapping her fingernails impatiently on the hardwood table as she waited for the annoying dial tone to finally disappear.

"Come on..Come on..pick up!" The phone connected and she let out a sigh of relief as she heard a voice on the other end of the line. "Oh thank God! Steve!...No nothing's wrong. Not yet. Just... I need to know... Where are Casey and Kyle? WHAT?! They're on their way here I thought they decided to go out of state! Oh God I've got to go..bye!"

She quickly hung up and stared at the phone in shock for a second before darting out of her chair and running out the back door. She was halfway across the garden fiddling around with her keys, trying to find the right one when she crashed into someone.

"Whoa!" Jason called out as he grabbed hold of Connie's arm just before she fell to the ground. "What's got you in such a rush?!"

"N-nothing." She stuttered. "Nice to meet you again Jason. I'd love to catch up but I'm a little busy right now so..."

Quickly she grabbed the keys off the floor from where they'd fallen out of her hands during the run in and hurried towards her car.

"Wait!" Jason followed her as she made her way across the driveway. "This isn't about Layla is it?"

Connie suddenly tensed and dropped her keys in shock at the mention of her name.

Slowly she turned around and gave him a slightly lop sided smile.

"Layla?" She said as calmly as possible, not wanting to give way any hint that there was something going on. "Why would it have anything to do with Layla? I don't even know the girl."

Jason sighed deeply and shot her a look.

"You don't have to lie to me Connie, I know everything. Layla told me."

Connie gasped.

"She told you everything?...I mean about Kyle and..."

"And the fact that he abused her for months then attacked her and left her for dead in some back road? Yes she told me."

Tears came to Connie's eyes as she rushed towards him, grabbing his arms and directing him towards her forcefully so that he had no choice but to look at her.

"He didn't mean it! I know he didn't! My son's a good boy! He can get a little out of hand sometimes but..."

"A little out of hand! Connie listen to yourself! He made her life a living hell for over a year just for fun..."

Connie winced at this but didn't argue. She'd heard it straight from her son and knew the damage he'd caused to someone they all loved and thought he loved.

"Then when she finally got out he stalked her and attacked her! That's not a little out of hand that...that's..."

"I know! I know! But he's changed I swear he has. He's started going to counselling. He's starting to work through his issues now. Everything's better now-I swear it!"

She knew that her son had caused irreparable damage but still felt the need to prove his innocence.

At the end of the day he was still her son and she refused to give up on the possibility that he was good. That's why she'd given him and Casey the opportunity to come with her to Camp Rock. It was something they'd always dreamed of when they were younger, especially Kyle who found inspiration in the success of his big sister, and Connie saw it as the perfect chance for Kyle to make something of himself.

By working part time with her in the kitchens and attending classes at camp he would have a chance to learn something new and maybe reconnect with the passion for music and dance he'd had before everything went wrong. Except now he was on his way here along with his sister and was about to run into the girl that had caused all this mess.

Not that Connie blamed LJ. She loved her like a daughter (and still did even now) but what she did know what that Kyle and Layla being in the same place with Casey hanging around would mean disaster for everyone and all the work Kyle and the family had done over the months trying to get him back on track would have all been in vain.

"It's just a little bit too late don't you think Connie? The damage has been done. To Layla anyway.

Do you think she's gonna feel any better knowing that Kyle's perfect now while she has to take a pill every morning just so she can leave the house without freaking out?!"

* * *

Jason's comment brought Connie out of her thoughts with a jolt and her head snapped up at this and she stared at him in horror. Connie hadn't seen LJ since that day she walked past her hospital room on the way to visit Kyle and what she saw was enough for Connie to never want to see her (or rather what her son) had done again.

Not that Connie had had much choice in it anyway. LJ's guardian at the time, Cassie, had taken out a restraining order against the whole family when it became apparent that both of the Torres twins were involved in this whole mess.

After that she just disappeared. Obviously to go and live with Shane and join him at Camp Rock...only she hadn't know that at the time. Maybe it she did then they wouldn't be in this mess.

Connie shook her head slightly in an attempt to clear her thoughts and returned to the subject at hand.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean after Kyle attacked her she finally snapped. Her body healed but her mind didn't now every time she leaves the house she has to take one of those pills just so that she doesn't feel like he's waiting around the corner ready to get her."

Connie's face paled and cursed silently under her breath as she pushed past Jason and headed towards her car. She's just unlocked it and pulled open the driver's side door when a hand came out and pushed it firmly shut.

Spinning around she glared at Jason who was determinedly stopping her from entering the car and leaving him behind.

"What do you want Jason?"

"I want you to tell me what's going on. First you almost knock me over you're so desperate to get out of here and then the second I bring up Layla and Kyle you're all jumpy and apologising for him like it suddenly matters what my opinion is of him. And now I tell you she can't go out without seeing him and..."

Connie listened anxiously to Jason's ranting demands as she waited for him to work it out. Suddenly his voice tailed off and his eyes went wide as he stared at her in horror.

"He's here isn't he? At Camp Rock? You INVITED HIM HERE! After everything he did to her you let him come here!!"

"I didn't know she would be here! I didn't even know she was Shane's sister. I swear Jason I had no idea any of this would happen! If I did i would have never let this happen! I thought this was over with...done. i was wrong and I'm so sorry Jason I am but I didn't know!"

"And you think that makes it better!?" Jason roared furiously.

He loved Connie Torres as much as the others did but looking at her pleading and grovelling for his forgiveness made him shake with anger. "She's a mess Connie and you just made it a thousand times worse!"

"How can it get any worse. From what I've heard she's already at breaking point!"

Jason's eyes, cold and hard with anger, snapped up to stare straight into Connie's.

"Because you just let the one thing that will finish her off walk straight into camp!"


	30. Chapter 28

**A/N: Hey hopefully you'll like this. Like usual I don't own any of the characters or camp rock. Gotta go sneaked downstairs to update...lol if I left it any longer I would've changed my mind. Hopefully I just wont get caught-don't think parents will be happy with me on the computer at 3:30 am!**

**Enjoy. and thanks xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 28

"Layla it's been 3 days-you're gonna have to talk to them eventually."

"Who said anything about me not talking to them? I'll have you know I've been talking to them a lot over the last couple of days."

Danny rolled his eyes.

"Shouting at them doesn't count."

She let out a low growl as they progressed further up the line to collect their breakfast.

Since Monday Brown had come up with a rota for all the councilors (with the exception of Layla) to do their part in the kitchen and things had been running like clockwork. Most of the campers didn't even think there was anything different as only a few campers and the staff knew what had happened but they'd all quickly worked out that the eggs (which now ranged from extremely runny to cooked within an inch of their lives and nothing in-between) had now became a no go. Not that many of the councilors cared about the state of the food they were providing. They were all far too bitter about being woken up an hour later every day to work in the kitchens to be bothered and unlike Layla were counting down the days until Connie's Catering's arrival at Camp Rock.

Danny and Layla carefully avoided the mountainous pile of eggs in the middle of the buffet table and sidestepped the gooey mess in order to get the the vegetarian section of the breakfast line.

Neither one of them particularly class themselves as vegetarians but they knew that their brother's were both on kitchen duty this morning therefore anything that required Shane or Kieran to assemble, cook or be near it could instantly be ruled as inedible.

Layla waited until they'd finished collecting their breakfast and had moved far away from her brother's piercing gaze and impeccable hearing before continuing their conversation.

"You don't know that I'm not talking to them...I'm just not talking to them when I'm around you. I could talk to them all the time when we're apart and you'd never know."

"Oh I think I do because you never are left alone with them! Not only are you spending your precious time talking to me when usually you're hanging all over _lover boy_ but for the last two nights you've been sneaking in and out of my spare bedroom..."

Layla rushed forward and threw her hand over Danny's mouth before he could say anymore and began looking around nervously.

Although they'd moved far enough away from Shane that he couldn't hear that didn't mean that he was the only one who was keeping an eye (and an ear) out for her.

Since her escapades on Monday all councilors had been warmed by Brown not to let her off the campus unless she was with an adult and the rest of the gang had tried their hardest to make sure that at least one of them was within running distance of her at all times in case she decided on doing another runner. The only time she wasn't watched like a hawk by her family and friends was when she was asleep and if Shane ever found out that she was sneaking out late at night he'd probably make her share with him and Mitchie and that was an experience Layla could live without.

She knew that her demand this morning to be allowed to move into the other cabin had been flat out ignored but she also knew that if her brother or any of the others even suspected that she was sleeping in Danny's cabin every night not only would they kill Danny but Shane would ground her until the end of her existence and there was no way she was going to spend the rest of her life locked up in the same house as her stupid brother and his moronic friends

"Would you shut up?! The whole point of sneaking out and then sneaking back in is so that they_ wont_ find out! You proclaiming it to the whole camp isn't exactly helping!"

Danny rolled his eyes at her dramatically and removed her hand from his mouth before walking off to their normal table.

The two had started sitting there since the beginning of camp and since then it had officially been dubbed their table with most of the advanced dance students also joining them as the filtered in and out of the mess hall. Today there was no one else there and as they sat down the topic of conversation quickly returned to the subject of Layla and Connect 3.

"What's your problem anyway... I mean an idiot could see that there's something going on between you, Shane, Nate and Jason."

"That's probably how you worked it out then." She snapped jokingly at him before gasping as a splodge of vanilla yoghurt made contact with her face. Slowly it began to trickle down her face and Danny did his best not to laugh as her eyes darted up to meet his before landing on the now empty spoon-a smear of yoghurt still attached to the tip of it.

"What? It slipped." He said innocently as she glared at him from across the table. Relenting he sighed slightly before reaching over and wiping the smudge away. Layla was still pissed but at least now she didn't look like she was the victim of an unfortunate pigeon attack. This seemed to calm her down a little but she still had a piece of apple from her fruit salad tucked away, ready for action when the time called for it.

"Seriously though...what's going on?"

"What you mean apart from me ending up in A and E and getting arrested?" She asked dryly and Danny blushed before coughing nervously and rubbing the back of his neck.

Both of them knew that what had happened after Layla ran away had only added fuel to the fire and made the situation worse but Danny was the only one who felt remorse for it and more than a little bit guilty. After all it had been his idea when Layla crashed into his cabin on the verge of tears to skip classes for the day and go to the carnival at the local town...he just hadn't expected things to turn out the way they had.

"Yeah about that...did I ever tell you how sorry I was?" Layla shot him a dirty look and he groaned. "Alright I'm sorry okay how was I supposed to know that was gonna happen?!"

"Jeez I dunno...maybe you could've actually kept an eye out for me and made sure I didn't do anything stupid instead of running off to have a quickie behind the bar with the waitress and leaving me all alone!"

"Ok I admit that was rather bad taste. But at least it cured me of my fascination with the blonde and her twin."

"Great! I'm glad...but did you have to freak out when you lost me then call my _BROTHER_ ?!"

"What! I thought I was doing you a favour!"

"You could've called anyone....hell the police would've been better than him!"

"But I did call the police...eventually."

"Yeah after you called Shane and told him I was last seen doing body shots off a couple of pole dancers when I should've been back at camp practicing for Musical Jam!"

"Hey you never told me you weren't allowed to drink or that you'd gone AWOL. You'd disappeared and taken the car with you leaving me stranded in the middle of town late at night. What was I supposed to do?!"

"I don't know called your own brother and asked him to come and pick you up?"

Danny scoffed and shot her a strange look.

"Please like I was gonna let my brother know that I'd been out drinking and having sex! For God's sake LJ!I'm barely 17! Do I _look_ like I have a death wish?"

Layla stared at him blankly for a second, contemplating whether she could jump over the table and strangle him without anyone noticing before taking a deep calming breath and closing her eyes, not daring to open them, or even to speak until she knew she could look at him without wanting to kill him.

Layla groaned and slowly opened her eyes in frustration and defeat.

"You know what it doesn't matter...all you need to know is...that...that Shane and my two other so called_ "best friends"_ messed up...big time...."

"And..."

She sighed and looked at him with an annoyed expression. This was a situation that Layla had been talking about way too often lately and she was quickly getting bored with it.

If Mitchie wasn't trying to get into her head every couple of minutes trying to persuade her that she should listen to them, Caitlyn would be complaining in her ear all the time about how Nate was driving her crazy and to top it all off between the frequent and long screaming matches Shane, Jason and Nate were always trying to get her to forgive them.

It had only been 3 days since it all happened and Layla was getting sick of it!

"And what?" Layla asked tiredly as she began stabbing her fruit salad angrily and shoving some of it into her mouth, hoping that the sooner she could get this over and done with the easier it would be to forget about it for a while and get on with her life.

"And ...What are you going to do about it?"

Layla's mouth fell open with disbelief and Danny wrinkled his nose in disgust at what he saw.

"LJ if I wanted sea food I would have got the fish...shut your mouth!"

"Oops sorry." She muttered embarrassedly before closing her mouth and glaring at him. "What the hell do you mean "_what am I gonna do_ "?! It was those fuckers that caused this whole situation!"

This last statement was a little loud and the whole mess hall went silent as they turned to stare at her-including her brother and the rest of Connect 3.

Danny could feel his ears turning red with embarrassment whereas Layla took it in her stride and just glared at them until they turned away, shooting an extra hateful glare towards the guys who quickly turned around to avoid her gaze and began muttering to themselves (obviously trying to come up with a way of getting out of the hole they'd dug themselves into).

"Way to go LJ! God you don't half know how to cause a scene do you?"

Layla laughed rather manically and stabbed a piece of mango on her plate with so much force that it almost went flying off the table.

"Danny. You saw me that night, right?" He nodded and she smirked evilly at him. "Well believe me... that's _nothing_ compared to what I can do when I really want to be bad."

Danny's eyebrows raised in a mixture of respect, surprise and fear at this especially when he saw the truth behind her words reflected in her eyes. He was about to ask when he heard a loud and purposeful cough from behind him.

* * *

Opposite Layla's eyes raised from her plate and focused on the person behind her than Danny didn't even need to turn around to see who it was-Layla's reaction and the way the air was suddenly filled with tension was enough to tell him what was going on and who was standing right behind him.

"Layla. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She pretended to think for a second while chewing on a piece of orange before answering.

"No."

Danny heard a low growl of anger and frustration from behind him and shivers went up his spine. Not much scared Danny Fuller but that noise almost sent him running for the hills...if it wasn't for the fact that his feet were frozen in place.

Shane Gray had never liked Danny ever since he saw how close he had become to his sister and his hatred for him only increased when he heard about Danny's reputation (no doubt relayed to him by a very jealous and protective Jason after their dance lesson last week). The final nail in the coffin though had been when Shane learned of Danny's involvement in Layla's little derailment on Monday and ever since then Danny had been sleeping with one eye open-waiting for Shane to creep in through his bedroom window and batter him to death with a baseball bat.

"And why not?" Shane's voice came out as a barely contained growl and the slight edge it it along with the hint of an accent (which Layla had informed him early on was a true sign that he was angry), caused the shivers to increase and the hairs to stand up on the back of Danny's neck especially when Layla's glare intensified.

"Because I'm busy" She said angrily through gritted teeth as she glared back at him intensely.

"Doing what? Murdering pieces of fruit?"

This just caused Layla no narrow her eyes further and Danny's fear to grow as he stared intently at his yoghurt pot never raising his head or turning around to face the person standing behind him.

He'd heard from his brother that one time when Shane had only been a councilor for a couple of years he'd thrown someone into the lake and hel their head underwater until they passed out just because he'd said something bad about his girlfriend-Danny shuddered to think what he'd do to him if provoked after he'd let Layla get in so much trouble the other night.

Layla's answer snapped Danny out of his thoughts causing him to hold his breath in nervous anticipation and his eyes to widen as he waited for Shane's reply.

"No actually. I'm talking to Danny. Now piss off before I get really angry." She snapped angrily never once breaking eye contact with the tall raven haired man standing behind her friend.

"Oh really? You're talking to Danny huh....Is that true _Danny boy_ ?"

Danny's head snapped up and he turned around to gaze at the calm but murderous face of Shane Gray.

"I..er...um..."

Shane raised at him and shot him a deathly glare.

"_I..er..um_ what Danny? Speak up or has the cat got you're tongue? Shame you couldn't keep your mouth shut a couple of days ago when you suggested to my baby sister that you should go out and get drunk!"

"God you're such a dick Shane! Leave him alone! It wasn't his fault so back off!"

Shane's piercing gaze left Danny and focused on his sister. Danny let out a sigh of relief that he'd been let off the hook (for now) and slumped slightly in his chair.

"Oh really so it was all your idea was it?"

Layla's gaze faltered slightly and Shane looked at her with a smug look stretched across his face.

"Exactly." He sneered before turning his attention back to Danny who'd felt the piercing glare of his eyes on him and suddenly straightened up in his chair, gulping nervously as he tried to stop his leg from twitching anxiously. "So what have you got to say for yourself Danny boy?"

But Danny wasn't saying anything. He was too busy freaking out, his mouth gaping open and shut as he tried to form the right words but no sound came out.

Layla was about to jump in and defend him again when he leapt out of his seat and went running towards the exit crashing into a couple of the campers as he left, sending trays off food flying everywhere as he ran out the door and didn't look back.

* * *

Shane chuckled slightly and shook his head before sitting down in Danny's now empty seat.

"Thought as much." He sighed as he grabbed a piece of strawberry from Danny's untouched fruit salad. "The boy's all talk and no action."

"Shut up Shane you have no idea what you're talking about and how dare you come over here and scare him away like that?! He's my friend!"

Shane scoffed loudly and glared at her.

"_Friend_ ?! Friend! You've only known him a week!"

"So! He understands me! Which is more than I can say for you!" Shane's eyes narrowed at this and he stiffened up in his seat but Layla was too angry to care.

How dare he come over here and scare off her friend! She'd hated many of his friends throughout their early childhood and for good reason but she'd never acted on it.

She'd always sat back and let Shane make his own decisions, his own mistakes when it came to who he chose to be friends with, knowing at the end of the day he would always make the right decision so the idea that he couldn't do the same thing for her (no matter how old they were or how rocky their relationship was) angered her beyond words!

"Danny is a good guy and no matter whether I've known him a week or my whole life, he's a good friend and I trust him."

Shane scoffed loudly and shot her a look that instantly made it clear to Layla that he thought she was crazy.

"Layla the guy's a freak. He lives with his brother because they're the only people who can put up with each other and he acts like a dog on heat. And don't deny it! I even saw him giving me the once over a couple of times and that's just weird."

"So because he doesn't act the way you think is "proper" you're gonna treat him like dirt. Wow Shane you must feel really proud of yourself!"

Shane groaned and ran a hand through his hair. This wasn't the way he expected things to turn out.

When he came over to ask to talk to Layla he wanted to sort things out-say anything-to get things back to normal. Not the way it had been before he left, he'd been stupid to ever think things could ever be the same after everything that had happened but he'd at least hoped that they could talk, patch things up, but every time he opened his mouth the situation just ended up getting worse and worse.

He didn't want to argue with his sister, he didn't want to fight and scream all the time and he sure as hell didn't want to feel angry with her but he couldn't help feeling a surge of anger in the pit of his stomach at her disgusted voice and tone of voice.

"Seriously Layla that's what you think of me?! That I would treat someone that badly because I don't agree with the way they act! I don't care if he wants to bang every guy and girl from here to the other side of the country as long as one of them isn't you!"

Layla's eyes widened in realisation and she smirked at him as a chuckle slipped out from her lips.

"So that's what this is about! You've heard about Danny's reputation and you're worried I'm turning into one of his little fuck buddies!"

An angry hiss slipped through Shane's teeth and she knew she'd hit the nail on the head.

Shane's hatred towards him had nothing to do with the way Danny acted or what had happened the other night (although that probably hadn't helped him out much) but rather had everything to do with the fact that he thought Danny would somehow pressure her into doing something she didn't want to do.

If only Shane knew the virtue he had been trying to protect had been lost long before she'd even met Danny..or even Kyle.

The idea of Shane thinking Danny would lead Layla astray made her laugh so hard that she was almost falling out of her seat so was shaking so much.

Shane's face tightened and his eyes hardened in annoyance and anger as he glared at her.

"What's so funny?!"

"You think Danny's gonna have sex with me! Ha Ha!" Layla continued laughing and rolling around in her seat while Shane's face began to slowly turn red not only at the subject matter of the their current discussion but also at the fact that Layla's overly loud laughter had caused people to turn and look at them curiously-no doubt wondering what was so funny between the feuding siblings to cause such a reaction.

Shane waited until her laughter had calmed down and people had stopped listening to their conversation before leaning forward slightly and continuing their conversation in a hushed tone.

"Jason told me about the way you were flirting last week and I've seen the way you two act around each other. You've only known him a week and you're all over each other all the time! What do you expect me to think Layla?!"

Layla watched him for a second before bursting into laughter again, the image of her and Danny being other than just friends sending her into another round of hysterics causing Shane to throw himself back into his chair and sigh in annoyance as even more people turned to look at her.

Of course Danny had made it clear he found her attractive but then again he made sure every girl and guy within a 5 mile radius that caught his eye knew that he was attracted to them and Layla wasn't exactly innocent herself. She felt attracted to him also but no matter how much she detested it and fought against it her feelings towards Jason both physically and emotionally were too strong to be ignored and although she and Danny continued to openly flirt with each other it had been made clear right from the beginning that they would never be more than just friends.

"You're only 17 and Danny's barely over 16 the last thing you two need to do is rush into a..a..a phy..."

Layla's whole face fell and she gasped in shock and anger as she leaped out of her seat and glared angrily at her brother.

"Oh My God you actually think I want to sleep with him!" She yelled angrily causing everyone to turn and gawp at them. "I thought you were only joking. Oh My God that's _sick_ ! what's _wrong_ with you?!"

"I was only trying to protect you Layla from scum like him! I know what he's like I know what he thinks! I was a teenage boy as well you know I think I understand what he's after and I'm telling you now the only reason he has any interest in you is because he wants to sleep with you!"

* * *

By now the entire mess hall had gone silent as everyone stopped to watch them. The only sound that could be heard was Layla's small indignant gasp and the sound of nine pairs of feet rushing out of the kitchen to watch the stand off between the two Gray siblings.

"So you think that's the only reason a guy would want to be friends with me?" She hissed quietly. Her voice was barely a whisper above the quiet but it cut through the air like a knife and rang loudly in everyone's ears (especially Shane's who was beginning to regret his decision of choosing to talk to her in such a public place).

She stepped closer to him and Shane visibly gulped at the piercing glare she shot directly at him, her eyes never faltering or looking in any direction except straight at him.

"Is that what you're trying to say Shane that any guy who'd ever want to talk to me, be friends with me is only doing it to get in my pants?"

"Not exact-"

"So Sander, Barron, Jason."

Nate's eyes snapped up at her at the mention of his brother's name and he waited with bated breath for what she would say next.

"They're all just pretending to be my friends so that they can sleep with me right? They don't care about me they just want to fuck me right?"

A couple of people gasped at her use of language and Shane felt his face turning red with embarrassment as he fixed her with an angry.

"You know that's not true. They'd never to anything like that."

Shane didn't notice Nate let out a loud sigh of relief before visibly wincing at this as but Mitchie did and instantly gave a gasp of her own. In that second Mitchie finally worked out what was going on and as her eye connected with Nate's fearful ones she instantly knew it was the truth. Without a secind thought she grabbed him forcefully by the arm and pulled them back out into the kitchen, making sure no one was listening and the door was firmly shut before turning to him her hands on her hips demandingly.

"I want to know everything-right now!"

"I don't kno-"

"Oh don't give me that I saw the way you reacted when she mentioned Jason's name! You were scared-like she was going to spill some huge secret! Oh my God is Jason sleeping with her?!"

Nate's eyes widened in shock.

"What?! No! At least I hope he isn't. To be honest I don't know what's going on all I know is she likes him and he likes her. That's it."

Mitchie watched him cautiously for a secind before sighing and rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.

"Fine I believe you. For now. But we'd better get back out there before Shane starts asking questions. But don't think this is over! Me, you, Layla and Jason havve some serious talking to do later!"

Without another word Mitchie grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back into the mess hall were the arguement was still raging between the Gray siblings-totally unaffected by their absence.

* * *

"So what's this all about Shane. You haven't ruined my life enough so you have to take my friends away from me too!"

"I don't want that!" He yelled back angrier than ever. "I never wanted to ruin your life! Do you think I wanted you, me, us to end up like this! I don't want to ruin your life Layla but I wont sit back and watch you fall into that boy's trap!"

"Why because you think he'll seduce me into bed? That I'll end up losing my virginity to some guy I barely know? Well newsflash you're about 3 years too late."

The resulting gasp from the crowd was louder than before and as the gang (especially Shane) reeled front his latest revelation the campers began muttering to each other. They'd all known that Layla was a reformed character and that she was a tough cookie but they'd never actually known what had happened in her past and the idea of her spilling all over her dirty secrets for everyone to hear was an opportunity none of them wanted to miss.

The increased chatter pulled Shane out of his state of shock and he looked at Layla with a mixture of anger and disappointment as she stood defiantly in front of him, her arms folded confidently across her chest.

She had also heard the muttering and chattering from the other campers but after years of putting up with it at school, at home, where ever she went Layla had become immune to it and focused only on letting out her anger and frustration at the person she felt the most angry with. Shane.

"Layla I think.."

"You know what Shane I don't care what you think! I'm sick of caring what you think! I spent half my life worrying about what you would think and do you know where it got me? It got me stuck in a children's home with no family and no friends, scared out of my fucking brains!"

"Layla.."

"No Shane! I listened to you and you let me down so I made it my own personal mission to fuck up my life as much as I could just to piss you off.

I know it's one of those cut your nose off to spite your face type of things but bloody hell those couple of years were fucking amazing! I've done things that most guys would _dream _ about..seriously I'm not joking there's even videos to prove it.

Whatever dirty, disgusting sexual or non sexual act you can think of you can bet I've done it at least once and the best part was I didn't care! Until I turned 15 and found "_the love of my life"_ but guess what? He fucked me up too much worse than you or anyone else could so what Shane what do you want to tell me?!"

Shane was silent, too shocked to say anything as he stared at his sister blankly. She smirked at him and moved further away from him, never once taking her eyes off him.

"What's the matter cat got you're tongue?" Layla smirked repeating Shane's words to Danny earlier, earning herself a glare from him before dropping the smirk and fixing him with a serious look.

"If you've got something to say Shane. Say it. We haven't got all day."

Still he said nothing he just stood there silently watching her along with the rest of the camp who'd stopped muttering and chatting to each other and had just...stopped-unable to do anything other than listen and watch as Layla fell apart bit by bit.

" I learned from my mistakes Shane-the first being ever trusting you, the second letting anyone think they can control me or what I do.

I like Danny as a FRIEND. Sure he may like putting it around a bit and that stunt in the bar wasn't his greatest moment but he will never -_ever_ -be anything more than a friend to me. He's a great guy Shane and unlike _some_ people he actually cares about me not about his chances of getting into bed with me. He's my friend Shane and nothing you can ever say will make me change my mind."

Layla's words caused Shane to snap out of it and he glared at her angrily as she turned and headed for the door, grabbing her by the arm and spinning her around before she had the chance to leave.

"Friend? Friend! Layla grow up! He is not your friend! Al he ever does it use you and get you into trouble why can't you see that! The little shit stole my car to take you to a bar where he used a fake ID to sneak you two in and get you so drunk that you couldn't see straight, leaving you to do God knows what while he fucked some waitress old enough to be his mother! That's not a friend Layla that's a pest. It's about time someone squished him like the little bug he is."

"Oh and what? You're just doing your brotherly duty and protecting me from scum like him right?"

"Exactly! I'm just doing my duty as a brother and making sure that you don't fall in with a bad lot and believe me Layla...that boy isn't good for you!"

"Ah!...So you'd know a lot about what would be good for me right? Being my brother and all?"

Shane sighed and nodded slowly beginning to think that he was getting somewhere with her rather than just shouting all the time.

"Yeah cos you did such a good job in the past didn't you you fucking ass!" Layla screamed so loudly that various people in the room (Shane included) jumped at the noise it created as it bounced around the room.

"How dare you Shane?! How fucking _dare _ you! Between you and your stupid irresponsible, childish friends you've managed to completely fuck up my entire life and now you want to sit there and tell me that _he's_ a bad influence on _me_ !

It was _my_ idea to steal the car _not_ his and as for the whole drinking thing? _My _ idea too! Yeah weren't expecting that were you? Danny might've had the fake ID but it was _me_ coming on to the bouncer that sealed the deal and believe me that guy was more than happy when I'd finished with him!

And Danny didn't_ lose_ me. I left! Sure I don't exactly remember what happened after that but if it's anything like you and Danny told me I'm glad I did it! It sounds like fun running around town being chased by the police dressed like a fairy."

The whole room burst into laughter at this and Shane finally snapped. Having enough of everyone listening to their conversation and Layla making a scene in front of everyone-not only of herself but also of Shane-he grabbed her by the wrist and yanked her out of the hall.

He dragged Layla forcefully across the courtyard, towards the cabin where her first lesson was being held; ignoring her protests and screams to let her go the whole way there. At one point she used all of her weight in an attempt to stop him from dragging her but Shane just picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, carrying her the rest of the way and not putting her down until they were securely inside the cabin and the door was shut.

* * *

"How dare you drag me out like that?!" She screamed furiously at him as she paced the dance hall. "I've never felt more embarrassed in my life!"

"Now you know how I feel!" Shane yelled angrily as he watched her pacing backwards and forwards, trying his best not to let the sound of her feet shuffling across the floor annoy him. God if there was one thing he shared in common with Caitlyn it was watching other people pacing annoyed the crap out of him.

"Do you have any idea how embarrassing it is for _me_ to get a call from my little sister's creepy friend informing me over 12 hours after she ran off into the sunset that he last saw her licking salt off some pole dancer's chest before disappearing into the sunset?

Or how embarrassing it was to turn up and find said friend and half the local police force trying to talk you out of jumping off a church roof not because you were suicidal but because you were dressed up as a fairy and thought you were fucking TINKERBELL! But of course after all that embarrassment, all that worrying and sweet talking I had to do with the police to get you out of jail NOTHING-none of it- was more embarrassing and degrading than hearing my sweet, innocent 17 year old sister proclaim to the whole fucking camp that she's a slut!"

The force of Layla's slap was so great that it sent Shane's head reeling back and he could taste the blood at the back of his throat as he looked up into the cold, hateful eyes of his sister. It was then when he saw _the look_ that he knew that he'd pushed it too far but he was too angry to care. Too angry at himself for letting this happen, Too angry at _her_ for becoming like this but mostly he was just angry that he and his sister had to be put in a situation like this. Growing up there life hadn't been great but they still had each other-no matter what-they were a team. And now there was this whole part of her life that he knew nothing about and somehow in this time his sweet, innocent sister who'd rather kick a guy and run away than kiss him was practically having sex with men just to get what she wanted....God Shane had never felt more angry, embarrassed or guilty in his entire life!

So he let his anger get the best of him and instead of apologising to each other, sitting down and talking to his sister like he should've and wanted to do he fixed her with a gaze of his own, much worse than he'd ever given his worst enemy let alone someone he loved and let out a low spine chilling laugh.

"What? Did I say something to offend you? A little close to the knuckle was I?"

Layla's face contorted in anger and she rose her hand to hit him again but he grabbed it and kept a tight grip on it as she struggled to break free from his grasp.

"Let go Shane!" She shouted hysterically, thrashing around as she tried to free herself from her brother's grip.

All the pain and resentment each of them felt toward each other had finally reached the surface and neither had been more angry or spiteful in towards each other in their lives and now all Layla wanted to do more than anything was hurt Shane more than he'd ever been hurt before. All the days weeks and years of pent up frustration, anger, guilt and whatever other emotions hey were feeling had finally reached the surface and there was nothing they could (or wanted) to do to stop it.

Unfortunately Shane was thinking the exact same thing as his sister and with the height and weight advantage-he was winning which only served in making Layla even angrier.

"What so that you can try and hit me again? I don't think so." He hissed and his grip on Layla's wrist intensified causing her to gasp in pain.

"You're such a fucking shit Shane! God I hate you! I hate you so much it makes me sick to look at you!" She screamed loudly in his face causing_ him_ to become even angrier.

"Yeah well the feeling's mutual. I've done some crazy shit in the past. Things I'm not proud of but I'd never stoop as low as you. If anyone should feel sick it should be me for even sharing half the DNA of a whore like you! God if Mum was here right now...."

"Shut the fuck up Shane you have no idea what Mum would say...She's dead!" Layla screamed tears coming to her eyes at the mention of her mother.

Although she'd had no where near as long with her mother as Shane did and most of the time her mother had been in pain Layla loved her mother and the idea that she would be hurt in any way by what she had done in her past pained her.

In fact it was part of the reason why she'd stopped behaving the way she did. After being expelled from her third school school Layla had been transferred to Kyle and Casey's school and with their help (along with Ryan, Nova and Cassie) began changing her life fore the better. At first she'd found it hard, often relapsing, but one day she' stumbled across the graveyard where her mother had been buried and after hours of crying to herself had come back determined to leave her old life behind and start focusing more on her schoolwork and the life she wanted all along rather than pretending to be something she wasn't.

The idea of her mother hating her for who she was and what she'd done after making the effort to change caused Layla to wince in pain and tears come to her eyes as all her anger disappeared and was replaced with sadness and remorse for what she'd done.

"Oh I know exactly what Mum would say if she was here. She'd tell you you're a no good slut...a whore...worthless. And I agree. You think I don't know what you got up to all those years? I saw you're medical reports Layla...and your criminal record. You've been arrested for DUI so many times I lost count, excluded from 3 schools for doing stuff most teenage boys dream about! I mean seriously?! 3 guys in one day all in the school parking lot? God not only are you a slut but your a cheap slut. What the hell were you thinking!?"

Layla blushed with embarrassment and stared down at the floor unable to look him in the eyes. Even she had to admit that hadn't been the best decision she had made.

A part of her wished that she could've said that it was the drink or the pills or something that would have influenced her to act in such a way but the truth was she had made the decision all on her own without any influence or impairment. She'd seen the opportunity of causing trouble for everyone involved and went for it knowing full well that if she was ever found out she would be expelled and that if her brother ever found out he'd be deeply ashamed.

She was right about both of them.

* * *

" What do you want me to say Shane? Isn't it obvious I wasn't thinking! Actually that's a lie I was thinking. Not that what I was doing was stupid or irresponsible but that if you ever found out you'd be so angry with me and hurt that maybe you'd understand how I felt."

Shane stared at her in shock and disbelief.

"That's what all this was about? Hurting me because I hurt you? Christ Layla can't you see how messed up that is?!"

"I can now. That's why I stopped. I was sick of putting up with all the crap and pretending to be something I wasn't so I stopped.

I thought the best way to get through everything and to prove that I didn't need you was to do the exact opposite of what you expected of me. So I fell in with a bad crowd, did things no one under 18 should even think about let alone do and I did it all to try and forget the person I was when I was with you.

But it didn't work. It never did and the more trouble I got myself in the more I realised I needed my big brother to help me out but you weren't there Shane! You never were after all the crazy things I did you weren't there! Ryan tried to fill the gap. Tried to be the big brother I needed but he wasn't you! I need you Shane and you weren't there!"

"There you go angain blaming me! I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you Layla I am truly. If I could go back in time and change my mind I would. If I had known what damage this would've caused I would have changed my mind in a heartbeat. But I didn't know Layla and I sure as hell didn't tell you to become the village fucking bicycle so don't you dare stand there and blame me!"

"I wasn't blaming you it's just.... I was wrong Shane-about so much, I realise that now and I've changed . Seriously, I changed...for the better I swear. This is me Shane...no more pretending...no more sleeping around...just me."

Shane laughed menacingly and his glare intensified.

"And you expect me to believe that bullshit?! You just admitted to the whole camp less than an hour ago that you used your body and the idea of sex to seduce a fully grown man into giving you what you want and you want me to believe that you're not a slut. God! Mum would be turning in her grave if she knew what was going on."

Layla's face darkened and the anger came flooding back as she stared intently at her brother. She no longer felt a need to get her brother to understand why she did what she did or in any way try and repair their broken relationship. Instead all she saw was red and as her anger grew so did her hatred for her brother.

"You know what Shane? Fuck you! Fuck you and your stupid pop star life! I don't need it and I DON'T NEED YOU! I HATE YOU!!!"

Shane's mouth fell open in shock at her harsh words and he quickly dropped his sister's wrists as he slowly backed away from her, stumbling on his feet as he stared at her intently.

It was only when he backed off and was able to see things from a distance that he's realised just how bad things had become. Tears of anger and hurt were pouring down Layla's face and she glared at him furiously with such anger that Shane cold feel it radiating off her all around the room. As she glared at him she began rubbing her wrists and as Shane looked down he gasped and began to feel immensely guilty as he saw the bruising that had already began to flare up around both wrists from where he'd held her arms so tightly.

"God Layla I wasn't thinking straight. I was just so angry and I don't know what happened. I just..Oh God! Layla..I'm so so--"

"You know what? Save it cos I don't want to hear it. In fact I don't even want you here. I've got a lesson in 15 minutes that I still need to prepare for so I probably think it's best if you leave...now."

"But..."

"Leave Shane! What part of that don't you understand! I don't want you here anymore. I don't _need_ you anymore!"

The second the words left her mouth they both realised the true extent of what had just happened and although only metres apart the Gray siblings had never been further apart in their life.

The only question now was...would they ever be able to repair the damage that had been done to what they'd always believed was an unbreakable bond?

At that moment, Shane wasn't quite so sure. In his mind there was no question.

He had lost his sister forever.


	31. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

As Shane slowly exited the dance studio without a word Layla closed her eyes allowing the silence and blackness surround her and calm her down. At that moment in time she'd never felt so close to breaking down in tears of sadness and exhaustion. Everything they had said to each other represented all the bad feelings they'd had towards each other and although a part of her felt good for finally getting everything off her chest a bigger part of her felt exhausted and guilty for the pain her emotions had inflicted on Shane. All the stuff she'd said about hating him, about not needing him had all been a lie.

She would always love him the same way that she would always need him but like usual her anger got the better of her and she thought with her emotions and her heart rather than her head. All she could hope for now was that they would be able to salvage whatever was left of their relationship. She couldn't bare to lose him after waiting for so long especially now she knew how long she had left to spend with her family before her time was up.

Her chest constricted at this thought and she took a deep breath as she tried to shake the feeling off. This wasn't the usual physical pain she usually felt when she's forgotten her medication or was suffering an attack but rather the emotional pain of what her brother had said to her.

Of course the rational part of her brain was telling her that like herself Shane had just been venting his emotions and that he hadn't meant any of it (his attempt at an apology before she'd ordered him out had been a sure sign of that) but she couldn't help but feel like he'd meant every word he'd said to her. The idea that she was slowly dying and her brother would spend the rest of her life hating her existence, believing her to be something she no longer was, being ashamed of even sharing the same mother as her, made Layla want to cry.

Instead she fought back the feeling and took a deep breath to calm herself down before opening her eyes and carrying on like normal. Her class started in 10 minutes and she still had to set up the sound system and warm up so that they were ready to start the minute all the campers arrived. No doubt it would be awkward for the first couple of minutes what with this being the first lesson she'd shared with Jason since Brown giving her another chance (he hadn't been too happy about the whole getting drunk and arrested situation) and after the spectacular scene she'd created in the mess hall earlier but she would just have to deal with it.

* * *

Layla had managed to sort out the sound system and finish her warm up in record time thanks to her need to keep busy and take her mind off what was going on therefore found herself waiting around for the rest of the class to show up. Feeling herself tense up and the thoughts beginning to creep back into her mind she turned the speakers on, turned the music up and put it on repeat before slowly getting lost in the rhythm of the dance.

Smiling slightly to herself as she felt her body moving gracefully around the room, she let her eye slip shut as she continued to run through her part of the routine she was teaching with Jason.

One thing Layla always loved about dance was that no matter what was on her mind, no matter how bad it was, the second she started dancing none of it mattered-she was totally focused on what she was doing and what she loved.

Slowly Layla moved elegantly around the room as she focused intently on each movement, each step as she circled around the room, keeping perfectly in time with the music. She was so focused on the music that she didn't hear the screen door open and someone silently step into the room. She was so focused that she didn't notice the footsteps on the wooden floor advancing towards her, and the sound of heavy breathing until it was too late.

* * *

A hand reached out and snatched hers, pulling it close to their chest as they began dancing along with her in perfect synchronisation.

Layla gasped at the touch and her heart skipped a beat in lust and love as she felt her pulse suddenly racing. She heard a soft chuckle and felt his grip on her hand tighten as they danced together and the all to familiar shiver went down her spine.

The touch of his skin, the smell of his aftershave, the solidity of his body sent a strange mixture of lust and panic which put every nerve in Layla's body. She both missed and feared this feeling and it was for this reason that Layla ignored the voice in the back of her mind telling her to run and continued to dance along to the rhythm of the music with this a so familiar stranger.

"Wow if I knew I still had this effect on you I would've come back sooner."

Slowly his other hand brushed along the outline of her body, brushing lightly against her stomach as they rested on the small of her back, Unable to think properly Layla just kept dancing to the music as he slowly lowered his head and sniffed her her, groaning slightly as he inhaled her unique smell. Another shiver went down her spine and she couldn't help but whimper slightly as he pressed himself closer to her body.

"God you have no idea how much I've missed this... what you do to me. It's unbelievable! I should've never let you go...Kira's got nothing on you. You're something special Layla...unique. Not like her. Nothing like her."

Her eyes flew open suddenly, unable to refrain herself any longer and locked onto a pair of familiar bright green eyes staring back at her. Taking a couple of seconds to look over his face, the perfect lop sided grin, the angular cheekbones and slightly messed up dark drown hair she felt her heart skip another beat but this time in fear.

"Kyle." She whispered shakily and he laughed loudly causing another shiver to go down her spine. "What are you doing here?"

He smirked at her.

"I could ask you the same thing. Imagine my surprise when I turn up at Camp Rock this morning and make my way to the kitchens to find my mum and instead find my girl dancing along to our song."

Layla's face contorted in anger as she glared at him.

"I'm not _your_ girl. Not anymore. You lost that privilege when you decided to play mind games with me, cheat on me then abuse me. You have no right to call me your girl or even talk to me so I suggest that you leave!"

Kyle smirked and leaned his face in closer to her as he continued to lead her around the room.

"You continue thinking that honey but the truth is-You still want me. You must do otherwise you wouldn't still be dancing to our song."

"This is not our song." Layla snapped knowing full well that it was a lie but didn't want to give in to him on anything.

He was right of course this was their song. In fact it was the first one they danced to together when the school had done their own production of HSM3 her first year at Kyle's school. They'd spent so long working on it and perfecting it that it had been one of the best performed routines of the whole musical and they'd often repeated it for various school functions. Before then the two of them had barely spoken but by the time they'd finally stopped performing it not only were they pros at it but they were also a couple and therefore it had been dubbed as "their song".

Of course this had completely slipped Layla's mind when she was choosing a routine for her class and now stuck in this class room with him, feeling like she was 15 again she couldn't help but mentally kick herself for her stupidity.

"Just admit it Layla you want me so bad right now you can hardly stand it."

"I don't want you Kyle. Not now, not ever! Why won't you accept that?!"

Kyle continued to smirk his smirk that drove Layla absolutely crazy and slowly bent his head down so that his lips were hovering just over her left ear.

"So you don't want me huh?" She could hear the smirk in his voice as her heartbeat increased and her pulse quickened at the thought of him being so near.

"I-I..I-don't want you K-Kyle." She stuttered nervously and he laughed quietly as he continued to smirk at her smugly.

"Then why are you still dancing with me?"

It was then that Layla realised that he was right and that they were still gliding around the room in prefect harmony and she couldn't help but notice that they still possessed the same elegance and flare they'd had all those years before.

Layla continued to look at him dumbfounded as they twirled around the empty dance room before she noticed that the music had stopped and that they were dancing in silence.

* * *

A loud cough at the back of the room alerted them to the presence of someone else and suddenly as if remembering everything that had happened Layla jumped away from him like she'd been burned and smiled weakly at Danny who was hovering anxiously behind them.

"Erm I..I have to go..."

"It's okay I understand you have a lesson to teach. It's ok I gotta go to work anyway. I'll see you around LJ. You can count on it."

He shot her a wink as he walked away, only stopping once to give Danny a quick once over before leaving the building. Layla waited until she was sure he was far enough away and she could breath without her heart feeling like it would explode before slowly making her way towards Danny, praying that her face and the way she acted didn't give away how she felt.

Unfortunately this wasn't the case and Danny instantly became suspicious as she cautiously moved to his side always keeping her eyes fixed to the huge full length windows behind him, almost as if she was checking that he wasn't still hanging around.

"Er Layla? What's going on?"

Layla's head snapped around to him and her eyes focused warily on his face as she shot him a nervous lop sided smile.

"Nothing's going on I promise. Just catching up with someone from my past that's all. Look at that! 8:58! Better start getting ready the others will be here any second."

* * *

Layla rushed off and began scurrying around the room fixing things and messing around with the sound equipment as Danny continued to watch her with a mixture of suspicion and worry.

If the way she had been acting hadn't been enough of a tip off that something was going on her behaviour at the time was more than enough evidence that whatever had happened before Danny's arrival had really shaken Layla up. The way she behaved was totally out of character. She had a type of nervous energy that Layla never usually possessed as she darted from one end of the room to another. Sort of like she was on edge, waiting for something to happen and anyone who knew Layla even for a fraction of a second knew she was the type of person to cause trouble not wait around for it (her previous actions clearly spoke for themselves) so the idea that she was not only waiting but expecting trouble yet had nothing to do with it more than unsettled Danny.

The fact that she was bustling around didn't help either. Layla never bustled and she never ever left anything to the last minute. Danny shared every single one of her classes with her and had been back to her cabin on various occasions so knew that Layla was always without a doubt punctual, organised and tidy so why was she running around the dance studio like a headless chicken trying to prepare everything for a lesson that was starting in less than a minute?

It just wasn't right but before he could question her on it a whole group of students (almost the whole class) had poured into the room and suddenly it was alive with hustle and bustle as people noisily began preparing for what was bound to be one of the most exciting lessons of the day-maybe even of the week.

Almost all of them had been in the mess hall when Layla had been spouting off and although Danny hadn't been present he had heard from others who'd been there that she'd made a right show of herself. Not many people cared about that (they'd come to expect it from her) but what had surprised everyone was the way that Shane had reacted. Instead of behaving calm and composed he had only fueled her rage ending with a huge shouting match between the two of them where Shane dragged her forcefully out of the room.

This of course had nothing to do with Jason but with everyone buzzing about Layla's scene in the mess hall and the obvious anger she had displayed towards every member of Connect 3 the class were certain that something would kick off this morning and Danny had been in agreement until he'd seem the way she'd acted earlier. Now he wasn't quite so sure.

* * *

"Okay guys!" Layla clapped loudly as she shouted over the noise and waited until they'd all stopped talking before starting again.

"I know you're all probably wanting to know what happened earlier and I'd be more than glad to tell you---if it were any of your business. I'm sorry that I let my emotions get the better of me earlier-none of you needed to hear that but it's done and I would appreciate it if n one asked me or Shane anything about it.

This is a dance lesson people not a coffee morning so lets focus on the dancing okay?"

There were some mumbles of agreement as the class nodded their heads seriously before Layla smiled and clapped her hands together again.

"Great! Now like usual my lazy ass of a partner is late so use this opportunity to warm up properly and get a little extra practice in. Hopefully if everything goes alright today we can pair you up next lesson and begin on learning the dance the way it should be performed-as partners! So get practicing and keep an eye out for who you think you'd be most compatible with. You never know you might just end up with them!"

There were a few sniggers and giggles at this as people began eying up each other from across the studio. Danny felt the eyes of the blonde he'd been crushing on last week bore into him and he looked her way just in time to see her cheeks burn with embarrassment as she quickly turned away and continued chatting with her brother who was staring daggers at Danny.

Danny smirked back defiantly and the dark haired boy scowled one more time before he went back to his stretches. He chuckled slightly to himself before slowly manoeuvring himself through the various people towards Layla who was casually circiling the room, analyzing their movements.

"So." He said casually as he siddled up to her, causing her to jump in fright at his sudden closeness. "You gonna tell me who that guy is or not?"

Layla bristled and glared at him.

"I'm not-happy now?"

"Come on LJ! You obviously know him I could tell from the way you reacted to each other but what I don't understand is how can someone get you as worked up as this?"

"Like what there's nothing wrong with me!"

"Yeah right! I've never seen you more on edge." Layla shot him a look and he sighed. "I know I know I've only known you a week, we barely know each other yada yada...but I know enough to know that you're worried about something. So come on-spill!"

"And you think it's that easy? Just ask me and I'll tell you everything?"

He raised his eyebrows at her and grinned.

"It worked the first time I met you!"

Layla's mouth fell open and her cheeks blushed red with embarrassment as she remembered the way she blurted out all of her secrets (even the ones she hadn't told Jason) to him after only knowing him for a day.

"I always knew that would come back and bite me on the ass." She muttered under her breath before sighing dejectedly and looking him in the eye. "Fine! If you want to know I guess I'll tell you. That giy you saw me dancing with..it was Kyle."

"WHAT!" Danny yelled so loudly that everyone stopped what they were doing and turned to look at them-obviously hoping for a repeat of this morning's incident in the mess hall but were sorely disappointed when Danny glared at them, telling them to mind their own business before turning his attention back to Layla.

"What do you mean that's Kyle?! I thought you had a restraining order against him! He shouldn't be anywhere near you!"

She sighed and put a hand to her forehead warily as she leaned against th back wall of the cabin. By now all the campers (apart from Danny) had gone back to practicing and they had moved further away from the group-giving Layla and Danny a chance to talk more freely without curious ear listening in on them.

"I do and he shouldn't but Mitchie called Connie to help out and obviously she must have called them too."

Danny stared at her in confusion.

"Why the hell would she do something like that?! Mitchie must've known that she would.." Danny gasped and narrowed his eyes at her as she looked away from him towards the ground and began shuffling nervously under his piercing gaze. "You didn't tell her did you?!"

"Not exactly." Layla mumbled bashfully never taking her eyes off her feet.

"And if you didn't tell her that means you didn't tell Shane."

Danny didn't wait for an answer this time as he knew he wouldn't get one instead he just threw his arms up in the air in frustration and began pacing the floor of the dance studio.

"So let me get this straight. The guy who abused you for months is here at this camp and not only knows that your here but was in the same room as you, touching you and your brother knows absolutely nothing about it?"

"Well when you put it like that..."

"God LJ it's like you just go looking for trouble!"

"Hey! It's not like I invited him here!"

"No but Connie did! And Mitchie invited her-something she would've never have done if she knew the truth!"

"You don't know that!" Layla snapped back raising her eyes off the ground to stare at him angrily.

"You don't know she wouldn't have still asked Connie to cater here. Even if she did Connie doesn't know I'm Shane's sister she could've quite easily still have asked him to come help out and no one would've been the wiser until he was already here and it was too late!

Don't you see it doesn't matter if I didn't tell them the chances are I wouldn't have been able to stop it from happening anyway!"

Danny stared at her wide eyed in bewilderment for a second before answering.

"LJ do you hear yourself?! Of course it matters that you haven't told Shane and Mitchie?!

Do you think Shane would ever let anyone who'd hurt you onto this camp site?! He and Mitchie would've both known that Connie was likely to bring Kyle and Casey with her and insisted that Brown find another catering company. By not telling them you've made yourself vulnerable! Don't you see that?!

By not telling them the one person who has the power to seriously hurt you is walking around, talking to you-touching you-and no one is the wiser. He could do anything to you LJ and no one would suspect a thing."

* * *

Her eyes went wide and her face paled as she realised the severity of everything. When Kyle had danced with her she was so lost in the good memories that she temporarily forgot the bad and suddenly they all came rushing back causing her to become weak at the knees (and not in a good way). Suddenly she remembered the beatings, the snide comments, the put downs and finally the attack no so long ago which sent shivers of pure fear down her spine as she found herself reaching out to Danny for support.

"Oh My God what have I done?!" She rambled hysterically as she stared at him wide eyed. "I fought so long to distance myself from him, to protect myself from him and I've just let him walk straight back in my life again! OH MY GOD DANNY WHAT HAVE I DONE!"

"LJ calm down! You've got to calm down okay people are starting to look at you!"

"I don't care Danny! Out of all the stupid things I've this is the most reckless and careless of them all. He made my life a living hell Danny and I just let him back in again. He was here with me in this room-God he touched me talked to me! I let him do that! All because I didn't tell Shane and Mitchie the truth! If I'd told them straight away I wouldn't be in this mess!"

* * *

Danny saw the look of madness and utter desperation in her eyes and began to feel a little guilty. Shooting a look to the other dancers warning them to back off he quickly grabbed her by the elbow and led her outside, sitting her down on the porch steps and waiting for her breathing to calm down before starting again.

"Maybe I was a bit drastic blaming everything on you not telling Shane and Mitchie." He said softly as he calmly rubbed her back in comforting patterns. "Sure it probably didn't help much but the good thing is that you told me-at least someone knows what's going on.

"Jason knows as well." She muttered slightly causing Danny to burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" She asked defensively as she stared up at him.

"Nothing it's just I should've known you would've told _Lover Boy_ already."

Layla smiled at him weakly.

"Am I really that obvious?"

Danny stopped laughing and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, a small smile on his face knowing that she was starting to feel better (or at least not so hysterical).

"Not really but I know you a little better than others even.."

"If I've only known you for a week." They finished together and burst out laughing.

* * *

"What's so funny?" A new voice asked them and they suddenly stopped laughing, staring up to see a curious Jason standing in front of them.

Layla's eyes suddenly hardened and she scowled at him before getting up and standing and glaring at him, her hands firmly on her hips and she stared him down.

"You're late." She snapped and Jason's jaw tighetened in anger.

"Well I'm sorry I was running around trying to find you!" He snapped back before calming down and reaching out to touch her arm lightly. "Sorry I didn't mean to snap..it's just...Layla do you think I could talk to you for a second alone."

Jason's eyes flickered to Danny then back to Layla who was still looking at him with a hint of anger.

"Whatever you've got to say you can say in front of Danny."

"I don't think that's a good idea Layla." Jason began nervously earning himself a snort of anger from Layla as she rolled her eyes at him.

"You know what if you can't be bothered to tell me right here right now I'm not interested."

"But..."

"We have a class to teach and you're ten minutes late so I suggest that you get your ass in that dance studio right now."

"But..."

"NOW JASON!"

* * *

"Now my partner has bothered to show up we can begin!" Layla shouted to the class as she walked through the cabin door a couple of minutes after Jason and moved to the front of the class. "Girls you're with me in this half of the room-guys your at the back with Jason. Remember what I said earlier people! You do this right today and we can finally move on so make the most of this lesson you're gonna need it! Now get into your groups."

The crowd dispersed and separated into boys and girls at opposite ends of the room. Jason gave Layla a fleeting look as she stalked away to the front of the room and began directing the girls over the moves they would be learning that morning. As he watched her he fought the need to go and tell her, to protect her from a danger she knew nothing about (A/N: He doesn't know that Kyle's been near her) but a loud cough from one of the male members of the class reminded him that he had a job to do and his personal problems no matter how serious would have to wait. SO he fixed a smile to his face and began to teach, pushing the idea of Kyle and Layla to the back of his mind where it remained until Danny cornered him on the way out of the studio.

"Jason can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Er if thi Is about the dance can it wait until next lesson?" He asked distractedly as he tried to side step Danny. Layla had just finished teaching her half of the class and was on her way out the door also and Jason wanted to catch her before she got to her next lesson. A quick check (thanks to Connie and a very helpful Brown) of the Torres twins schedules showed that they both had beginner guitar with Jason next and the last thing Jason wanted was for her to walk in on them without being prepared.

Unfortunately Danny didn't seem to be getting the hint and anytime Jason tried to walk around him he would step in front of him effectively cutting him off and after a while of this song and dance Jason became annoyed especially when he noticed that Layla was nowhere in sight.

"Great!" He muttered angrily before turning to Danny his eyes blazing with barely controlled fury. "You happy?! Now you've got my undivided attention what do you want?!"

"The same thing you do." Danny stated calmly and as if someone had flipped a switch Jason's anger was replaced with confusion as he looked at the teenager.

"What do you mean?"

Danny took a deep breath and indicated to a corner of the room where they could stand without the few people left behind listening in. He waited until Jason was standing next to him again and looked reasonably calm before opening his mouth and speaking in hushed tones.

"Layla told me what happened. She told me about Kyle."

Jason involuntarily sucked in a sharp breath of air and stared at Danny wide eyed in shock. As if reading his mind Danny smirked slightly and looked at him warmly.

"I know I thought the same thing. Why tell me when she should've told Mitchie and Shane? And before you ask me no she didn't tell me that I worked it out on my own."

Jason's face fell and his eyebrows knitted together in a mixture of frustration and stubbornness.

"It would be nice if I could get a word out every once in a while instead of you using your Jedi mind trick on me." He grumbled and Danny laughed slightly.

"True but then you'd actually have to pretend like you like me enough to make small talk and let's be honest that's never gonna happen. And don't try arguing about it we both know it's true."

Jason opened his mouth to protest but Danny shot him a knowing look that instantly caused him to close it again. Danny smirked again before fixing a serious look to his face.

"The other reason for me not letting you talk is this. He was here. In this room before lessons with her."

"WHAT?!" Jason exploded loudly and began furiously pacing the dance studio much like Danny had done earlier but with twice as much anger than Danny had ever been able to manage-then again Danny had expected nothing less from the man who believed he was in love with her. Not that he'd ever heard Jason profess his love personally but he'd heard enough from Layla and seen enough from Jason's actions around her to know that in the short time they'd been back together Jason had fallen head over heels for his best friend's little sister (and the little sister wasn't much better).

"What do you mean he was in here?! There's a restraining order against him and his sister-they shouldn't be within hearing distance of her-hell they shouldn't even be in the same state as her! What the hell was he doing?!"

"From the looks of it he was dancing with her."

The room went deathly quiet and Jason's whole body tensed up as he slowly stopped his pacing and turned to stare disbelievingly at Danny.

"He. Was. What?" He asked with controlled calmness through gritted teeth.

The sound made Danny shiver in fright and gulp loudly before he answered.

"They were dancing-together. When I got here. He-he looked like he was getting quite close and..."

"And she wasn't fighting him off." Jason asked shell shocked as he stared blankly at him.

The idea that Kyle had touched Layla in any way after what he'd done sent shock waves of pure fury through his body but they were soon replaced with disappointment at the idea that Layla hadn't bothered to push him away. In Jason's mind that only meant one thing. That no matter what he'd done to her Layla's love for Kyle was strong enough for her to go back to him-and not strong enough for her to forgive Jason.

"No she wasn't." Danny said softly and his eyes widened when he saw the look of sadness on Jason's face, instantly reading on his face what he thought had happened and what her actions had meant. "But that doesn't mean she wants to get back with him. In fact it's the complete opposite."

"What?"

"I only came into the room near the end but it looked like Layla was in a state of shock-like she hadn't quite worked out what was going on.

Sure she looked angry like she didn't want him there but she didn't look like she wanted to do anything about it either. I don't think it was until later when I shouted at her for not telling Shane and Mitchie that she realised what was really happening."

"And how did she react?"

Danny shot him a disbelieving look, his eyebrows raised quizzically.

"It's LJ. How do you think she reacted?"

"She freaked out. Shit!" Jason yelled angrily as he kicked out at the wall, taking out his aggression on it before finally calming down and running his hands through his hair as he turned back to Danny. "How bad was it?"

"Not that bad actually she didn't run off and start doing shots with pole dancers if that's what you were worried about it." Jason glared at him and Danny's face fell. "Still too early for jokes huh? Okay then...moving on. The point I'm trying to make is yeah she freaked but I managed to calm her down and as long as she doesn't see him anytime soon and we come up with a plan-just until she tells Mitchie and Shane-she should be fine."

"You stupid idiot!" Jason screamed loudly and furiously as he whacked Danny around the back of the head and raced off out of the room.

"Hey what was that for? I can report you you know!" Danny yelled after him as he grabbed his stuff and racing out of the cabin, falling into step right along Jason as the ran across the length of the camp site towards the music rooms.

"Why do you think I was in such a hurry to get out of the dance studio when you cornered me?"

"I dunno you felt like actually being on time to one of your lessons instead of showing up late?"

"No-doofus! I wanted to get there on time to warn Layla!"

"Warn her what?"

"That she's gonna be sharing the next hour and a half with her worst nightmare and his bratty sister except now she already knows!"

"How?"

"Because the lesson started 6 minutes ago!"


	32. Chapter 30

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* * *

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AN: Hey I'm back! Sorry this has taken so long exams and revison have really been crazy the last couple of weeks. As I only have one major exam and 3 smaller ones left I thought I'd take a break and get back to writing again. I am so glad I did I forgot how much I missed it. Anyway sorry for leaving it so long, hope you enjoy it and hopefully now things are calming down and my writer's block (of sorts) seems to be passing there should be some new updates soon!

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 30**

Layla had never been more grateful to Danny than she had been in that moment. Jason had been trying to get her attention all lesson, telling her that there was something important he needed to tell her but Layla had heard it all before, the apologies, the pleading, the arguing and she wasn't in the mood to go through it all again. That's why when Jason began making his way towards her at the end of the lesson only to be stopped by Danny she was grateful for the distraction and managed to slip out without having to have the same infuriating and annoying conversation with Jason again.

Of course she knew that Danny (armed with the knowledge that Kyle had been here and Jason knew all about their past) would tell him what had happened and Jason would stick to her like glue from then on no matter how much it annoyed her but for now that was something she was willing to deal with later-as long as she got to spend some time on her own to think clearly without any interruption from ex boyfriends, best friends or (more specifically) Jason. Just thinking about thinking about him was a minefield which was quickly starting to give her a headache.

She entered the councillor's on site locker room and groaned softly at the last thought that had run through her head.

_Why couldn't she just be mad at him and get over it why did she still have to be in love?!_

After everything that had happened surely there couldn't be any possibility that love existed between them?

He had lied repeatedly over and over, each lie causing more damage and destruction than the first just to cover his own back. He let Shane take all the blame for what had happened all those years ago although he knew his words whispered oh so carefully into Shane's ear that had finally convinced him into putting her into care.

His lie to please his band mates had only led to infuriating her and his attempts to cover up and protect her from it only caused more trouble for everyone in the long run. So why after all the pain he had caused did she still love him?

Why did her heart skip a beat when ever he was around and why did she find it so hard to concentrate on anything but him whenever he was standing next to her. She had always believed that what she shared with Kyle (at the beginning at least) had been love but after this she could see that it was just a crush, it paled in significance to her feelings for Jason and in a way that scared her more than she could have ever thought possible.

Although the two had always been the closest (next to her and Shane of course) the whole time she was growing up with him and away from him she had never ever thought of him as anything other than her best friend-the other big brother she had never had. It had only been a couple of weeks and she had fallen head over heels in love with the one person (apart from Kyle) that she shouldn't have fallen in love with.

She groaned again loudly and threw her hands up in the air in frustration.

"God why can't anything ever be simple?! She screamed loudly, grateful that no one else was near by to hear her. "Why can't I just hate him and move on?! Why can't I just forget him?!"

But she already knew the answer-in a way that was what angered her the most. She knew that she wasn't going to forget him, that she couldn't forget him and the way she felt even after everything he'd done because at the end of the day she wasn't supposed to. Layla remembered a saying Nova had told her years ago when she first started dating her boyfriend Max :

"_If you can't get a person out of your head that because they're supposed to be there."_

Layla hadn't understood it at the time for she "_loved_" Kyle but never was he the only thing she thought about, the reason why she couldn't sleep at night and the one person all her thoughts somehow worked their way back to. But Jason was.

Even when she was angry with him she couldn't stop thinking about him and just him being in the same room with her bombarded her with thousands of thoughts about the two of them together and how great it would be. She had never had that with Kyle and certainly never with any of the guys she hooked up with before him so why did she feel this way about Jason? Why was this crush any different from the others?

In that second Layla worked out the true force of her feelings towards Jason and the power of it made her go weak at the knees. Sitting down on one of the sofas nestled at the back of the room she felt herself getting woozy from the power of it and put her head between her knees as she thought it through.

She loved him and seriously loved him-not just puppy love or the type you might feel towards someone after spending so much time with them.

Ever since she had felt that electricity between them when they sang together she knew that her feelings towards him had changed. Her suspicions where only confirmed when he told her his feelings towards her and they had kissed.

From then on she knew that what she felt for him bordered on love but so much had happened since then, so much had got in the way of that feeling that the anger overpowered it-not giving her a chance to realise how deep her feelings truly ran for Jason. Now after taking the time out to think she could finally work it out.

She loved him more than she had loved anyone else in her life and although the idea scared her half to death and there were so many things that could go wrong she couldn't deny her true feelings any longer. All this mess and tension between the two of them had only been made worse by the fact that neither had taken the time out to really tell each other how they felt, to accept that no matter how much trouble it may cause in the long run they were in love and Layla couldn't bare to think of their feelings being left unsaid any longer and causing further damage to everyone they loved most (including each other).

Suddenly she felt the urge to see him and, grateful that her next lesson was beginners guitar with Jason, she grabbed her old guitar from her locker and raced towards the music cabins-not wanting to wait any longer.

* * *

Layla was so impatient to get to her class and most importantly to Jason she hadn't noticed the scowling face of a tall blonde with purple streaked hair watching her every move from the huge cabin windows that overlooked the path. Neither did she see the slightly taller brunette boy standing next to her, excitement shining in his eyes as she ran up the path, her neon blue highlights and equally bright green and blue guitar case, a colourful blur as she raced up to the cabin's screen door.

Her excitement and need to see Jason so different from her need to be away from him earlier was so great that she noticed none of this and most importantly at the time as rushed up the steps to the door she didn't notice a broken board jutting out of the front porch.

In true Layla style she managed to stub her toe on the offending article and with all the grace of an elephant in a tutu crashed into the room and (thanks to the heels she had forgot to change out of after dance class) toppled over, falling face first straight into the lap of one of her advanced dance students.

The whole class was stunned into silence as they watched her flail around for a while before laughing loudly and turning back to whatever they were doing. Luckily she and the student were quite close and he took no offence or made any dirty references to her situation, instead he helped her up and asked if she was okay, waiting until the blush had died down and she mumbled that she was fine before moving on. A couple of the other campers chuckled a little at her, knowing far too well her gift for making a fool of herself but two students most certainly didn't find it funny.

Once she was sure the blush had completely died down and that she could walk in a straight line without falling over her feet Layla went in search of her guitar case which had somehow been flung across the room during her little "trip". Luckily for her the neon green and blue chequered case she had brought for it meant that it was quite easy to recognise in a crowd therefore it didn't take her long to find it...nor did it take her long to work out who it was swigging the bag from their finger like it was diseased.

Slowly Layla's eyes trailed up from the hand to the body, focusing on the piercing eyes and dirty look on the familiar blonde's face. Her eyes flickered quickly to the brunette standing beside her and it only took one quick fleeting look to send shivers of fear and panic down Layla's spine.

* * *

Kyle in all his brown haired, tanned skin godliness fixed her with such a scowl that Layla instantly remembered why she was so scared of him. She had seen that look before on many occasions and knew what he was planning something and whatever it was it wouldn't end well...most likely for her.

It was times like this when he would lose his temper over something (no matter how small) and someone would get hurt-the most likely person being Layla. She had lost count of the amount of times that he had flown into a rage because another guy had just been in the same room as her when he wasn't she'd hate to think what would happen if something else had happened and now here she was standing opposite moments after accidentally falling head first into another guy's lap.

Layla stood dead still, waiting. Waiting for him to start screaming and lashing out at her any second but instead he just glared at her one more time before turning on his heel and angrily storming off to the other side of the cabin leaving Layla behind with his formidable sister.

The two looked each other up and down cautiously. Before all this had happened the two had been the best of friends-almost like sisters. In fact it was Layla's friendship with Casey and her new friend's insistence that she take part in the school musical that led to Kyle and Layla first meeting. It was safe to say if Layla had never met Casey Torres she wouldn't be the person she was today.

Casey had convinced her that sleeping around and getting into trouble wasn't in her best interests and Layla had taught her that she could actually wear girls clothes and enjoy it without feeling uncomfortable. If they hadn't met each other Layla would still be sleeping around with any guy she could land her hands on and Casey would be wearing her brother's old clothes for the rest of her days so both couldn't help but still have feelings for the other but at the end of the day what had happened between them was too much for either of them to overcome.

So they kept staring at each other, looking each other up and down cautiously as they waited for the other to make the first move.

Suddenly Casey left out a disgusted snort and sneered at Layla a clear indication that she'd had enough of this situation and with the same tone as someone addressing the human equivalent of pond scum she began to speak.

"What are you doing here LJ? I wouldn't think someone like you could afford something like this. I wonder how many hours you had to spent flat on you back to work up that much cash?!"

Layla's eyes narrowed as she glared at the blonde, her blood boiling in her veins as she looked at her former best friend with such anger that she was visibly shaking.

"Shut the hell up you fake blonde slut!" She yelled surprising everyone even Casey.

Ever since the incident with Kyle it was true that their roles had almost reversed with Casey earning LJ's previous persona during her last year of high school.

Casey had turned from the girl that everyone ignored into the one that everyone loved to hate.

Every girl either wanted to be her or hated her because every single guy on campus wanted to get into her pants. LJ on the other hand faded into the background, never speaking up, never defending herself-until now and the fierceness of it shocked Casey who was fully expecting LJ to sit back and take it like she had done before.

Seeing that she had been stunned into silence by her outburst LJ took the opportunity to keep on going and to finally get her say against the girl who had been such a powerful influence in her life ever since they first met.

"Unlike you I don't feel the need to sleep around to get what I want...not any more. And not that it's any of your business but I'm here because my brother brought me here. I didn't even want to come here in the first place!"

This revelation snapped Casey out of her stunned silence and her eyes narrowed as she smirked at her and sneered in disbelief.

"Yeah right. Your _brother_. Finally decided to show up did he?" LJ winced and Casey smirked at the pain on her face.

Kyle hadn't been the only person LJ had told about her past and her brother. Both had been suspicious the second she told them, but Casey (a die hard Connect 3 fan) had pretty much dismissed it straight away claiming that Shane Gray never had a sister and that she was lying.

That had been the start of the problems between the two of them and ever since she had been bringing up LJ's past and her "fictitious" relationship with Shane to make her feel bad about herself.

"How is Shane by the way? Oh that's right you wouldn't know because you're just some obsessive fan girl freak! There's no way someone as hot as Shane Gray would be related to a dirty skank like you!"

Casey expected this statement to be the final blow to LJ's defiance so she was beyond shocked when instead of crumpling and running away she threw her head back and began laughing loudly.

The force of the sound was so much that it reverberated around the room and caused LJ's whole body to shake with the intensity of it. It was clear that whatever she had said had humoured her in some way and Casey found herself getting annoyed and angry not only at not knowing why she was laughing but also because things weren't going as she had planned.

"What's so funny?! She snapped causing LJ to stop laughing and turn to her, wiping the tears of laughter away as she looked at her former best friend.

"You just called me an obsessed fan girl when you're the one who's gushing over Shane like some tweeny bopper fan girl!" Suddenly the laughter was gone from her voice and it turned serious as she stared Casey straight in the eye, closing the gap between them as she moved closer to the older girl.

"How pathetic is that?! Gushing and fawning after your own sister's _husband_. It's _disgusting_...If I was Mitchie the idea of you being anywhere near my husband would make me sick especially with your latest _hobby_. Last time I heard you were earning a reputation for yourself at that fancy new college of yours and from what I can tell...it's definitely not because you use your brains but rather because you're more than happy to use other certain parts of your body."

"Yeah like you were any better!" Casey snapped back defensively, not liking the fact that LJ was actually fighting back and starting to win.

"Everyone knows what you did before you turned into little miss goody two shoes! Just because you like to think you're sweet and innocent doesn't actually mean it's true. Deep down you're still a slut and you always will be."

LJ chuckled darkly.

"You see that's where you're wrong. I've learned from my mistakes and sure I'm about as pure as driven snow but at least I realised my mistakes and changed them. I got out before they ruined my life. What about you Case?"

The blonde teenager looked at her speachlessly, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly as she tried to find the words to express herself but got nothing.

Suddenly like a switch had been flipped Casey's face darkened and with a frustrated shriek she turned on her heel and stomped off to the other end of the side of the cabin.

* * *

Layla stood there with a smug grin on her face for a couple of seconds, celebrating in her small victory over the bitch that was Casey Torres before the sight of someone running full speed out of the cabin door like their life depended on it snapped her out of her thoughts. It had only taken her a couple of seconds the recognise the fleeing teenager as the guy who's lap she'd fallen into and it took her even less to work out what or more specifically who had caused it.

Firstly because Layla had been in this situation so many times in the last 2 years that she'd become used to it and secondly that the person in question was by her side smirking satisfactorily a couple of minutes later-the emotion behind his actions still present in his eyes as he looked at her happily.

"No need to thank me. I'm pretty sure that thanks to me that guy wont be bothering you again."

LJ stared at him speechlessly as she tried to search for the right words to say.

"Thank you?!" She demanded angrily once she'd gotten over the shock. "Why the hell would I thank you?"

Kyle's face fell and he stared at her disbelievingly.

"That guy was hitting on you. I know that it makes you uncomfortable so I thought I'd warn him off. I thought that's what you wanted."

"What I want is for you to leave me the hell alone!" She screamed loudly as Kyle's face fell even more, a frown settling on his once happy face as he stared at her in confusion.

"You had absolutely no right to do that and I sure as hell didn't _want_ you to! He did nothing and he certainly didn't hit on me! Even if he did it's none of your business!"

"But I thought it made you uncomfortable." He mumbled and LJ let out a shriek of frustration and anger at his words.

"It does but only when you do it! When are you going to get it Kyle?! You cheated on me, made my life a living hell just for the fun of it and you think I still want you back?

I hate you Kyle! You would have to be the last person alive for me to even think about getting back together with you and even then I'd rather be dead than spend the rest of my life with you. You and you're sister make me sick!"

His head suddenly snapped up and LJ gasped at the familiar look on his face-the look she had been subjected to for the last 18 months, the one that haunted her in her sleep and even now had the power to make her cower with fear.

It was the look that caused all this mess, that created the look in her eyes that everyone had been so scared of since she arrived at Camp Rock and it was that look that caused LJ to lose all her previous confidence and take a step back from him.

"Would rather be dead huh?" He chuckled bitterly as his eyes darkened and her stepped closer grabbing her wrist tightly and yanking her towards him forcefully causing her to gasp in pain.

She stared up at him, tears in her eyes as his grip tightened on her wrist and he lowered his head to look her straight in the eye as he sneered evilly at her, his eye alight with excitement.

"We'll just have to see about that wont we."

LJ gasped in fear and pain as his grip on her wrist intensified to a point where she was sure there would be damage. Before he could do any more though there was a loud noise from behind them and someone called his name. Glaring at her a second longer he finally let go letting LJ fall to the floor before turning back and walking over to his sister.

LJ checked the damage done to her wrist and made a mental note to keep the bruises hidden from the others until she could do something about them before gazing up to see Casey looking down expectantly at her. Suddenly LJ's look turned to a piercing glare and she stood up to face the blonde.

"What do you expect me to say thank you or something cos believe me if you are you're gonna be waiting a very long time."

"I don't want you to thank me I want you to leave. I want you to get out of here and stop playing with my brother like the sick twisted bitch you are. No one wants you here LJ so why don't you just leave?!"

"Whoa back up a minute! First of all if anyone should leave it's YOU! You're just here because you're mummy needed help in the kitchens. If she didn't ask you to come you know as well as I do that you wouldn't be here. I on the other hand happen to be an instructor and a camper so next time you feel like giving out marching orders remember that I have more of a right to be here than you!

Secondly it was your brother who came to me _not_ the other way around and although I constantly tell him to go away he doesn't seem to get the point! Then again he never could...and thirdly Miss High and Mighty. I _am_ wanted here by many people including my brother and _your _sister so SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Casey stared at her, her eyebrows raised in amusement as she stepped closer to LJ.

"This would be the famous pop star brother who left you alone to rot in a children's home right? Wow he _really _must love you!"

"Shut up Casey you have no idea what you're talking about!" LJ screamed loudly her anger getting the better of her for a second, revealing her true feelings.

" No one cares what you think so shut up and butt out. You have no idea what's happened between me and my brother so keep your mouth shut!"

Casey stared back at her confidently, glad to have the upper hand again as she finally found something that really pushed LJ's buttons.

"Oh I know exactly what happened with you and your brother. He realised what a dead weight waste of space you are and dropped you as quick as he could.

You couldn't handle the fact that no one wanted you so you latched on to me and my poor vulnerable brother hoping that that would make you feel better but once you realised he didn't want you any more you came up with this crazy idea that Shane was your brother to make yourself feel more important than the rest of those rejects.

You keep telling me that I'm sick? Well at least I don't go making up stories about some famous pop star being my older brother to make up for the fact that no one wanted me.

If I was you I'd just crawl under a rock and die. No one wants you LJ the sooner you accept that and get out of our lives the better."

"Casey!"

All three of them swivelled around to look at the front door, their mouths falling open as they came face to face with an angry looking Mitchie.

Without a word she stormed into the room and stood between the three off them, eying each one individually before speaking.

"What the hell is going on here?! I turn up to see my little sister and baby brother to find you circling LJ like a lioness ready to attack her prey! Why would you do that?"

Casey's mouth snapped shut and she shot a final glare in Layla's direction before turning to her sister, her expression softer than it had been a minute ago.

"Nothing. Just catching up with LJ here."

Mitchie looked suspiciously between the two of them before letting her eyes flicker slightly to her brother who was standing quietly behind his sister, his face drawn in concentration, his eyes smoldering as he stared at Layla intensely.

"Do you three know each other or something?"

The three of them tensed up and looked at each other shiftily all three of them knowing that they'd strayed into dangerous territory.

* * *

After everything that had happened Connie and Steve had been so ashamed and angered by their youngest children's actions that they did everything to shield Mitchie and Theresa from it-this meant not telling them what had happened between Kyle and Layla as well as Casey's part in the whole event.

Both Mitchie and Theresa loved their younger siblings dearly and Steve, Connie, Casey and Kyle recognised that if they ever found out they would be heartbroken so the decision had been made that they could never find out.

As LJ had no ties to the eldest Torres siblings (that she know of at the time) she had not been told of the plan but now after finding out Mitchie's connection to her brother and friends she too didn't want her to find out the truth. For all her promises to tell her and Shane the idea of Mitchie finding out (especially like this) sent shivers of fear down her spine.

Not knowing of the agreement between the Torres twins and their parents she waited nervously for them to spill the beans only to be met by the same tense gaze as her own. Something in their eyes made her realise that they too wanted to keep what had happened a secret from Mitchie and in the same second Kyle and Casey realised the same thing.

All three suddenly relaxed and for the first time in a long time agreed on something as they quickly plastered fake smiles on their faces and turned towards Mitchie.

"We used to go to the same high school that's all." Casey said sweetly as she smiled at her sister. The other two nodded in agreement as they too smiled at a very dubious looking Mitchie.

Before she could question them any further the cabin door burst open and Jason came flying though gasping a wheezing like he'd been running a marathon before coming to a stop in the middle of the room and bending over slightly to try and catch his breath.

A couple of seconds later Danny came crashing through the door in a slightly better condition and coming to a stop next to Jason gulped down half his bottle of water before gasping and handing it over to a slightly less red looking Jason who took it gratefully and hastily finished it off.

He took a couple more deep breaths of air in order to try and regulate his breathing before standing up straight and greeting the class with a wide grin and a cheery hello causing many fan girls in the class to start giggling girlishly.

"Hey guys sorry I'm late. Got talking to a camper and lost track of time." He said shooting a quick glare at Danny who shrugged slightly before turning away and heading towards Layla and Mitchie. Following him across the room Jason's smile dimmed when he saw who Layla was standing next to.

Although he had only met the Torres twins a couple of times and the girl had dyed her hair since the last time he had seen her Jason could tell both by their resemblance to each other and to Mitchie who they were.

Instinctively he walked towards them and not caring if LJ was still mad at him or not worked his way into the tight knit group and positioning himself ever so casually between Layla and the tall brunette boy he could only assume was Kyle.

"Mitchie!" He said with fake joyfulness as he came to a stop behind Layla his arm brushing against hers slightly as he casually blocked Kyle's view of her.

She noticed this and smiled at him gratefully, leaning into him slightly as she felt her previous confidence slowly slipping away. A part of Layla instantly felt better when he was around even if she was still kind of angry with him and right now she needed that comfort more than ever.

Mitchie saw the interaction between the two, pursing her lips slightly as she looked at them silently before snapping out of it and smoothing her face out into a warm smile as she looked up at Jason.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh I just thought I'd drop in on your class-check up on the gruesome twosome before I went and helped Mum out in the kitchen."

"Well every thing's fine. They haven't missed out on much and if they're as good as you've been saying they'll pick it up in no time."

Jason's grin widened almost painfully as he fought the want to reach over and strangle Kyle Torres. The whole time he and Mitchie had been talking Kyle had been glaring at Jason and Layla with such intense hatred that Jason felt like his face was being burned off.

There was no doubt that he has been the look on Layla's face when Jason arrived and her reaction to him as well and Jason could practically feel the hatred and anger radiating off him. Turning his head slightly he stared at the teenage boy to see him glaring furiously back at him, his hands clenching by his sides like he was ready to start a fight any second.

Jason smirked a little and moved closer to Layla enjoying the way she relaxed into him and the low growl Kyle emitted before his sister reached out and put a calming hand on his arm. Jason observed the interaction between the two of them and knew instantly who ran the show when it came to the youngest members of the Torres family.

Kyle might be the eldest of the two and the one with the biggest muscles but it was clear that Casey was the one who was in charge and from the way she'd managed to calm him down and moved in front of him slightly was the most protective.

He was so busy watching them react to each other that he completely ignored everything Mitchie was saying-it was only when he saw them all staring at him expectantly that he realised something was going on.

"What?"

Mitchie rolled her eyes at his air head ways before sighing and repeating her previous question.

"I need to talk to you. Alone. Right now. Have you got a minute?"

"Right now?"

"Yes Jase. Right now."

"But I'm already 8 minutes late! I have to start-"

Mitchie sighed frustratingly and turned away from him. Putting two fingers in her mouth she let off a loud whistle causing the whole class to turn and face her.

"Guys! Go through whatever Jase here taught you last week and when you've finished-start again!" The class grumbled but complied and Mitchie turned to Jason with a smug smile stretched across his face. "There I just bought you some time. Now come on!"

Without giving him a chance to talk she grabbed him by the arm and yanked him out of the studio leaving behind three confused teenagers.

* * *

Once they were outside Mitchie slammed the door shut and with considerable force, threw him into the the wall.

"Jesus Mitchie!"

She glared at him as he tried to push himself away from the wall only for her to push him back with more force.

"I want to know everything right now and I mean it Jason-I'm not playing around!"

He stared at her in confusion.

"Mitchie what the hell are you talking about?!"

"Nate told me Jason. I know all about you and Layla!"

Jason's face paled slightly before his jaw tightened in anger and he pulled himself up to look her square in the eye.

"Oh yeah and what exactly did _Natey boy_ tell you."

"He told me enough." Mitchie faltered slightly causing Jason to smirk.

"He told you nothing didn't he? You've just got some wacky idea in your head and thought that you'd be able to get the truth out of me by suggesting that Nate had already spilled the beans. Sorry Mitch but that's just not gonna cut it this time. Now if you don't mind..."

He turned to go back into the cabin but her words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"I know you're sleeping with her."

Jason's whole body tensed up and he flexed the muscles in his hands, clenching them into tight fists in an attempt to control his anger before spinning around and facing her again.

"I'm _what_?"

"You're sleeping with her." Mitchie stated defiantly but as he got closer and she saw the look on his face her voice became less convincing. " She and Shane had this big fight in the mess hall earlier and she mentioned your name..."

"In what context?"

Mitchie shuffled nervously under his glaze and stared down at her feet.

"In the context that you were only getting close to her so that you could have sex with her." She mumbled.

Jason let out an angry hiss and Mitchie looked up to see his face turning red as he continued to furiously clench his hands into tight fists.

" I didn't believe it-of course I didn't. But then I saw the look on Nate's face when she said your name and I started having doubts. It was like he was scared that she was going to tell Shane something that she shouldn't-something about you and her- and suddenly it clicked.

All the things that have happened since she arrived, the way she was so angry with you _way _before Tess told her the truth, why she took it so much harder than anyone expected..."

"And your first conclusion was that I was _sleeping with her_?! God Mitchie do you really think that little of me?

She's 17 Mitch! Not only is it illegal but I'd never do something like that to Shane! He trusts me Mitchie-more than he should-and I would never betray his trust in that way! If he found out he'd go ballistic! Do you really think I want that?!

After everything we've been through, after almost 17 years of friendship do you think I would ruin that by sleeping with his sister less than a month after he finally gets her back?!"

"You're right Jase." She said softly, feeling thoroughly ashamed of herself as she saw the truth shining in his eyes as he spoke. Of course she'd known that Jason couldn't do something like that-Nate had pretty much said so himself-but she needed to know for sure and the only way to do that was to hear it directly from him.

"I'm sorry I should've never suggested something like that I was just looking out for L--"

"Layla and Shane I know I know but it would've been nice if you could have thought a_ little_ better of me than that! I would never sleep with her Mitchie-I'm not like that."

"But something is going on isn't it?" Mitchie prodded insistently as she moved closer to him.

"When I asked Nate if you and Layla were sleeping together he was horrified but told me that as far as he knew you liked her and she liked you. What did he mean Jase?"

"Nate should learn to keep his mouth shut!" He muttered darkly as he pinched the bridge of his nose and started pacing outside the music studio.

"What did he mean Jase?" Mitchie repeated again, more softly this time, as she reached forward and gently put her hand on his arm.

Jason stopped pacing and stared into her caring eyes for a second before sighing in defeat.

"Ever since that thing back at the cabin when we sang together for the first time some thing's been different between us."

"What do you mean?"

Jason groaned and rubbed a hand over his face in anguish as he turned to look at her.

"I mean that before when I would look at Layla I would see my best friend and the little sister I never had but always wanted."

"And now..." Mitchie prompted earning a rather loud sigh from Jason.

"And now it's completely changed. I don't see her as someone who I love as a little sister any more. Sure I want to protect her all the same and be there for her but there's something else. It's like that's not enough any more! I want to be with her all the time, tell her things I don't tell anyone else, be with her in a way that just being her friend or her brother doesn't cover."

"You're in love with her aren't you?"

An easy smiled spread across Jason's face and his eyes lightened up as he nodded his head softly.

"Yeah I am."

"Aww Jase! Out of all the people in the world why did you have to fall for her?!"

Jason's smile slipped from his face and was replaced with a deep frown.

"I don't know Mitch and if I had any choice in the matter don't you think I'd fall in love with someone a little more appropriate than my best friend's 17 year old sister?! But I can't change who I fall in love with and beyond a shadow of a doubt it's Layla that I love and I don't think anything could ever change that."

"But it's only been a couple of weeks! I know me and Shane got together quickly but that's just madness! You can't feel that strongly for her in such a short time!"

"Don't you think I know that?!" He shouted back angrily as he started pacing the front porch outside the studio, the sound of guitars being played in the cabin doing nothing to soothe him.

"I tried and tried to convince myself that what I was feeling wasn't true that it wasn't right but I was wrong Mitchie! Every time she got angry at me, everything I did to try and protect her which backfired and hit me in the face only showed me how much I loved her.

Those days that she stopped talking to me almost killed me Mitch! And the look in her eyes when she found out it was me who told Shane to put her into care it ripped my heart into two and I'm telling you it hurt like hell to think that something I did caused her that much pain. It still does and I think it always will."

He stopped pacing and sat down next to Mitchie on the top step leading up to the cabin taking the time to calm down for a minute before continuing.

"I never wanted this to happen-not this way. When I thought about the future and finding "_The__ One"_ I never expected it to be with the person I'd always seen as my little sister."

Mitchie smirked slightly and nudged his shoulder.

"Hey I never thought I'd end up marrying a pop star but look at me now." She smirked at him a little bit longer before talking to him in a more serious tone. "I'm not saying that I agree with this in any way but I can tell how strongly you feel for her. As strange as it sounds I'm happy that you've found someone who makes you feel this way and if Layla feels the same way I'm happy for her too.

Sure I'd be happier if you would've fallen in love with someone more appropriate and I'm sure as hell not giving you permission to do anything you shouldn't but if you make each other happy I don't know why you just do something about it-as long as Shane doesn't find out about it of course. At least not until you're out of hitting distance and he hasn't got a reasonable excuse to kick your ass-say for instance-dating his under age sister."

Jason scoffed loudly and rested his head on his knees.

"Yeah right like that would ever happen. Shane's so protective of Layla that he would threaten to beat a guy to a pulp just for breathing the wrong way around her. How do you think he'll feel when he find out about me and Layla?"

"Sure he wont be ecstatic.."

Jason stared at her wide eyed.

"Ecstatic! Mitch he'll kill me...not that I can blame him. I would if I thought someone was sleeping with my 17 year old sister."

Mitchie stiffened and shot him a look.

"I thought you said you weren't having sex with her."

"I'm not but if you can jump to that conclusion I bet you anything Shane would too and I can tell you now that he'll do a hell of a lot more than just talk to me."

Mitchie sighed sadly and rested her head on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"I'm sorry Jase. Sure I'm not happy about you being attracted to Layla but that doesn't mean that I want to see you so down."

"But it's not just an attraction Mitchie that's the problem!" He shouted slightly before groaning and running his hands through his hair nervously as he tried to think of a way to explain his feelings to her. " It's not like when I was with Tanya or Tess-It's the real deal Mitchie. I can feel it and I_ know _I love her. That's why it's so frustrating!

Don't get me wrong I love the way she makes me feel, the person I am when I'm with her and what she inspires me to become. The way that she smiles at me makes me feel like I can do anything-be anything and I love that. No other girl has ever made me feel like that before Mitchie! And I love how close we are with each other-we can tell each other everything and sure we argue a lot but I can tell in her eyes that she feels something for me too!

The others weren't like that. It was like they were only there for the stuff or to get closer to the guys. She likes me for me and I feel the same thing for her. I love her Mitchie."

Mitchie stared at her friend in silence for a minute, contemplating everything he said and looking at the truth shining in his eyes before answering.

"I believe you. And I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For the things I said." She said sheepishly, staring down at her hands. "I know now that you would never do something like that and I was completely out of line ever thinking that you would do anything which would jeopardise your relationship with Layla or Shane.

You'd never sleep with her because you love her too much to do something that you know she would regret and cause her pain."

She reached out and grabbed his chin, lifting his head slightly so that he was looking her in the eyes and the emotions behind them almost made her cry. There was so much love and pain in those eyes that Mitchie's own heart felt like it was about to break.

In that second Mitchie realised just how deeply Jason's feelings ran for Layla and that this was ripping him apart inside as his heart and his head fought over what was right and wrong. His head was telling him that he was better off leaving her be and just being friends but his heart was telling him that she was the one he'd been waiting for and Mitchie in that split second could see the conflict painfully clear in his eyes.

Silently a lone tear made it's way down her face and she leaned forward pulling him into a tight hug.

"I am so sorry." She whispered, never meaning the words more than she did in that moment as she pulled him as close to her as she could. "I am so_ so _sorry."

* * *

They stayed like that for a while, clinging to each other like their lives depended on it until a loud cough alerted them to someone else's presence. Looking up Mitchie gasped when she saw Layla standing there leaning against the door frame. Even from here she could see the tears forming in Layla's eyes and the way she hovered around nervously, her eyes darting around like she was looking for a way out.

Realising how it looked to her Mitchie quickly leapt up and created as much distance between her and Jason without it seeming like the act of a guilty woman. By now Jason had also realised who was watching them and had reached the same conclusion as Mitchie, his face turning pale as his mind calculated all the possible scenarios Layla was currently thinking up and none of them were looking good for him or Mitchie.

The three of them stared at each other for what seemed like forever waiting for someone to make the first move and after a few false starts Layla finally spoke up, her voice soft and wavering as she stared straight at Jason's panicking face.

"Err...I-it's been 11 minutes people are starting to get restless."

"Ah yes I better go..I told mum I'd go help set up for lunch." Mitchie smiled at them awkwardly and started making her way down the wooden steps. "Good luck Jason. I'll see you two later."

"Actually." Layla called out to her, stopping her in her track as Mitchie turn back around to look at her. "Do you think you could stay?"

Mitchie eyed her suspiciously, trying to work out her motives for wanting her to stay with them. In was obvious to Mitchie at least from Layla's behaviour that she thought something was going on between Mitchie and Jason and that it upset her deeply.

_So why_ Mitchie thought _would she still want me hanging around?_

Layla must have noticed her apprehension as she smiled at her slightly, letting her know that she felt no hard feelings towards her.

"Nothing to worry about it's just I was wondering if you could cover Jason's lesson? I mean you said that you had nothing to do and I'm sure your mum will be able to cope without you for a while it's just I really need to talk to him...alone for a while. Sort some stuff out..."

Mitchie looked at her again, studying her for a couple of seconds before finally realising. Layla hadn't been upset and on edge because she thought Mitchie and Jason were having an affair but because she had heard everything Jason had said and now knew how he felt about her.

Mitchie smiled at her slightly and nodded her head as she walked back up the stairs towards the door.

"Sure. Just don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Layla grinned at her and hugged her tightly before letting got and running towards Jason. Waiting until Mitchie was back in the cabin she slowly reached out and grabbed his hand, holding it gently for a second before dragging him down the cabin steps and deep into the forest.

* * *

Confused Jason blindly followed her down the steps and into the trees surrounding the cabins before he felt himself being pushed into the forest his back colliding with the trunk of one of the trees. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on but before he could even get a word out Layla's mouth came crashing down on his kissing him with so much passion and lust that he was too shocked to do anything.

Almost instinctively he started kissing her back with as much ferociousness and feeling as she had done until the need for air suddenly became too much and the two pulled away from each other.

"What was that..." He began but Layla but a finger to his lips cutting him off halfway.

"I heard what you said to Mitchie." She whispered softly and Jason's eyes widened in fear as he began to blush with embarrassment.

She giggled slightly and pecked him lightly on the lips. "Don't worry about it. I thought it was sweet and just so you know I feel the same way."

Layla didn't think it was possible but his eye widened larger than they had been before this time in surprise.

"You do?"

"I do." She smiled at him sweetly.

Jason grinned and leaned into kiss her more passionately this time but Layla pulled away suddenly almost causing him to fall flat on his face. It took him a while to work out what was going on before he turned around to find Layla staring back at him.

"What's going on here?" He asked with a confused expression as he looked at her questionably. "I thought we'd sorted this all out. I love you, you love me so what's the matter?"

She smiled at him weakly and caressed the side of his face as her sad eyes bored into his.

"I do love you Jason. More than I've ever loved anyone else. But.."

"But what?" Jason pressed her and she sighed loudly as she sat down on the ground, leaning against the many trees surrounding them to support her.

Quietly Jason sat down next to her and gently slipped his hand under her chin to turn his head towards her, knowing by the look on her face what she was going to say. "But what Layla?"

"I can't do this....at least not the whole boyfriend/girlfriend couple thing. I realise now that the way we acted before..well it was wrong.._I_ was wrong. We jumped into a relationship too soon and when it didn't work out the way I wanted it to straight away I flipped out. Instead of acting like a reasonable adult I acted like a spoilt little brat and I don;t want us to be like that."

Jason looked at her in confusion, his eyes full of sadness as he tried to comprehend what she was saying. When Layla told him she felt the same he was ecstatic thinking about the future and finally being able to be in a proper relationship but now he felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath his feet.

"I don't get it. After all this-ever everything you've just told me-you don't want to be with me?!"

"No!" She insisted firmly as she reached out to stop him from pulling away from her. "I _want_ to be with you that's why I'm doing this!"

Jason's confusion intensified and she sighed deeply.

"I want to be with you but on more than just a physical level and I can't do that right now not with everything going on at the moment."

"You mean Shane."

"Partly. Kyle and Casey being here as well hasn't helped matters but it is my life in general at the moment. I'm just not ready to dive into another relationship right now. Not a proper one any way and I don't want us to be one of those flash in the pan relationships. I want us to last and with everything that's happening at the moment I just don't think I'm ready for that yet."

Jason leaned back against the tree and his eyes slipped shut as he let out a sigh of sadness.

"So what does this mean?" He asked softly as he slowly opened his eyes and stared directly back at Layla's sympathetic blue eyes.

Gently she reached out and caressed the side of his face, a sad smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

"It means that I love you and I always will but for now...until I start sorting my life out...we can't be anything more than friends."

The pair of them were silent for what seemed like forever as Jason contemplated what she was saying weighing up the pros and cons while Layla waited nervously for his answer.

She was about to give up hope and get up to leave when Jason finally spoke.

"So as friends to you wanna go for a canoe ride? Mitch should be good for another hour so we don't have to get back any time soon. So what do you say?"

Layla let out a sigh of relief and turned to face him a wide grin spread across her face.

"I think that's the best idea you've had in a long time Mr Carter!"


	33. An Ages

**Character ages:**

**A/N: Hey not a chapter but I'm putting one up at the same time so yay! Anyway someone left a review asking the ages of all the characters and to be honest I meant to do it earlier but completely forgot. So here it is even the really obscure characters you don't remember-you never know they might be popping up again later!**

**Thanks! :P**

**Connect 3:**

Jason Carter: 27 (almost 28)

Shane Gray: 25

Nate Carter: 21

**The Girls**

Layla "LJ" Winters Gray: 17 (almost 18)

Mitchie Torres Gray: 23

Caitlyn Carter: 21

Peggy Dupree: 26

Tess Tyler:26

Ella Sheng:24

Lola Scott :22

Nova Walker:15

**The Guys**

Sander Loya:23

Barron James :20

Danny Fuller:17

Kieran Fuller: 27

Ryan Walker:22

Elliot Parks:6

Casey and Kyle Torres: 19

**A/n: I think that's it. If not I'll update it later. Hope this clears up any questions!**


	34. Chapter 31

**A/n; Hey sorry this took so long (again-got to get better at this!). ope you like it and thanks for reading!**

* * *

Chapter 31

Shane didn't have to look up from his plate to know why the whole room had suddenly gone quiet. It had only been a day since they had that major blow up in the mess hall and ever since it was like everyone was holding their breath just waiting for something to happen whenever the two of them were in the same room as each other.

They didn't have to wait long. Reunited at lunch the same day and forced to sit at the same table as her brother the youngest Gray had used the opportunity to pour ice water down the back of his shirt, that night she had thrown a vase (with surprising accuracy) at him and true to form within seconds of entering the room today she had swiftly but surely whacked him around the back of the head before storming off with Danny to the other side of the room.

"Wow she must be finally forgiving you. That's the first time she's actually not stayed around to cuss you out after hitting you." Jason commented innocently as he bit into his apple earning himself a glare of hate and jealousy from the other members of Connect 3.

Thanks to their conversation the other day Jason had been saved from Layla's wrath whereas Nate and Shane-who were still in her bad books given their recent actions- had been experiencing what can only be called a living hell for the past 24 hours (although Shane was a lot more worse off in the pain inflicting department than Nate).

Finally noticing the hateful glare he was being given by his unforgiven friends Jason quickly shut his mouth and scurried off to find Layla and Danny-grateful at least that although they weren't together yet they were finally friends again and that he wouldn't have to go through the same torture as Shane and Nate. Given their shared common interest of keeping the Torres twins away from Layla Jason was now on better terms with Danny and the three of them quickly fell into comfortable, animated conversation.

Seeing his sister and best friend laughing together as they ate lunch at a table across the mess hall Shane let out a low growl of anger and jealousy causing everyone to turn and look at him suspiciously.

"Why does she forgive him and not us?" He hissed, his grip tightening on the fork in his hand as he angrily shovelled pasta into his mouth. "Why is she ignoring us and assaulting me while he gets away with everything?!"

"Maybe because he didn't humiliate her in front of everyone, call her a slut and practically disown her..."

Shane growled angrily at Mitchie and her eyes widened with innocence.

"What it's true! Plus he actually apologised to her..unlike you two."

Nate snorted.

"Sure we all now how he_ apologised_." He muttered under his breath just loud enough for Mitchie and Shane who were sitting next to him to hear.

Being the only person other than Mitchie who knew the truth about Jason and Layla he wasn't angry at the fact that she'd forgiven him but rather that the two of them were closer now than ever before and unlike Mitchie he didn't like it...at all. When Jason and Layla had come back to the cabin last night all smiles and joking with each other Nate had pulled his brother to the side where he quickly found out what had happened earlier between the two of them. To say he was pissed would be and understatement and as a consequence Nate had barely spoken to his brother all day.

Confused, Shane was about to ask what he meant when there was a loud thump and Nate yelled painfully before turning and glaring at Mitchie who still had an innocent expression on her face even though in order to shut him up she had rather viciously kicked him in the shin under the table.

"You know what that doesn't matter." Caitlyn stepped in for her husband and best friend who were glaring at each other across the table. Clearly there was something going on between the two of them and usually she would try it sort out but Shane's problem was more important therefore for the time being she ignored the staring match going on between the two of them and focused her attention on Shane, causing him to gulp at the intensity of her gaze.

"You're avoiding her, You're so freaked out that something going to happen to make things worse that you wont go near her. At least if she's angry at you it's better than nothing at all right?"

Shane stared at her in silence for a second before shouting at her in astonishment.

"Are you frickin crazy! I'm not scared of her being angry with me! Hell as close as we were growing up she's always had a temper way worse than mine why the heck would I be scared of her being angry with me!?"

"Then what's this all about?"

"I'm afraid she'll kick my ass that's what I'm afraid of!" He shouted loudly causing the whole gang to turn and look at him-even – Nate and Mitchie who had stopped glaring at each other and returned to their lunch.

"You're telling us that you're scared of a 17 year old girl?" Barron asked slowly in disbelief.

Nate and Shane nodded their head furiously in seriousness causing Sander, Barron and Caitlyn to snort with laughter at the idea of the two of them being scared by a little girl-even the others were finding it hard to keep a straight face.

"Oh find it funny do you?" Shane snapped before turning to his friend glad to see he shared the same annoyed expression as him. "Nate show them."

Suddenly the annoyed expression on Nate's face was replaced with one of panic and shock as he looked at his friend with wide eyes.

"What?! I can't ...I mean.."

Shane sighed at his friend's stupidity. He and Jason clearly were from the same gene pool.

"The ones on your hand Nate." He said slowly as if he was talking to a child.

The younger man's face suddenly cleared and he turned to the others sticking out his left hand, showing a series of small marks along it as he started his story.

"About 8 years ago I thought it would be funny one April fools day to put hair dye in Layla's shampoo...well I forgot how obsessive she is about her hair and the next day after hearing a loud scream from across the hall I opened my front door to find Layla standing there looking like she was ready to kill me, her hair bright orange...."

The group burst out laughing at the idea of Layla with neon orange hair as Nate and Shane looked at them, totally unimpressed.

"Yeah that's what I did to." Nate started once they'd all stopped laughing. "Shouldn't have though. Turned out I picked up the wrong bottle of hair dye. I got permanent instead of wash in/wash out. She'd tried to wash it out and it wouldn't go. I tried to apologise, went around her flat the next day ready to grovel...Do you know what happened? She ended up with orange hair and I ended up being used as a human dart board!"

Everyone's face fell as they stared open mouthed at him in disbelief. Sure they knew that Layla could be overly dramatic like her brother and that her temper excelled that of Shane's but the idea of her actually inflicting serious harm to another and at such a young age astounded them.

"She didn't!" Mitchie gasped in astonishment, letting out another gaps when she saw the seriousness reflected in both Shane and Nate's eyes. "Oh my God she did!"

Caitlyn gasped.

"So that's where that scar on your..."

Nate covered her mouth before she could say any more before leaning down and whispering in her ear.

"There's a reason why I showed them the ones on my hand Cait." he whispered and she began to blush with embarrassment for yet again managing to talk herself and Nate into an awkward situation .

"Sorry." She whispered quietly but by this time Jason (drawn in by the sound of laughter from their table)had decided to come back and he and Shane who still to this day found amusement in his pain began snickering to each other.

If Caitlyn's almost announcement wasn't enough of a clue their snickers were enough and soon the whole group (minus Nate of course) were trying their best to suppress a bad case of the giggles.

"Dude did she really hit you in the butt with a dart?" Barron asked his voice wavering as he tried to stop the laughter from shaking through his body.

Nate's face turned grave and they instantly knew they were right.

"Darts, forks, knitting needles...anything sharp basically." Nate added bitterly as the others continued to try and hold their tongue. Every April fools day since then Shane and Jason would do something, anything to remind him of what had happened just to get a laugh and it had quickly become a sore topic for him (no pun intended) but one of great amusement for his closest friend and brother.

"He tried to run but Layla just followed. Chased him all around the flat before she finally hit him in the ass!" Jason burst out laughing and the others soon followed, unable to suppress it any longer while Nate glowered at them his mood getting darker and darker with every laugh.

"Hey it's not funny I couldn't sit down for ages!" He tried defending himself over the sound of their laughter which only got louder when they saw the look on his face. "Guys it's not funny! I could've been seriously wounded and that was just because I messed with her hair imagine what she'd do to Shane!"

The laughter suddenly stopped as they all sobered up at the thought of the many torturous acts Layla would commit on her brother.

"You know I don't think I have ever met anyone as violent as your sister." Sander stated out loud causing murmurs of agreement not only from the members of the group but also those who were sitting at nearby tables listening In on their conversation.

Jason let out a loud snort and pointed a finger accusingly at Shane.

"Who do you think taught her half the stuff she knows?"

Open mouthed everyone turned to face Shane in disbelief. Sure he could be a bit dramatic and stroppy but he'd never resorted to violence.

Shane shrugged casually and the group's eyes burned into him.

"What can I say it was tough growing up on our estate. I just wanted her to be able to protect herself."

"Bullshit!" Mitchie, Nate and Jason all shouted in amused disbelief causing half the mess hall to turn to look at them before realising that it was the trouble making section of the group and returning to their meals.

"I grew up 20 minutes away from your estate and the most crime you ever had was someone raided the bins one night!" Mitchie stated before taking a bite out of her sandwich."And it wasn't even big burly mean men intent on using it for evil."

"Who was it then?" Ella asked intently. She always did like gossip.

"Foxes." Jason stated simply setting off another round of giggles. "The criminal mastermind for the last 50 years in that whole community-50 of course being the average age of everyone else apart from us lot in on the estate-was a fox. And not even a good fox. The thing got caught red pawed a couple of weeks later. Scraggliest looking fecker you'd ever see."

Lola turned to Shane her eyebrows raised in amusement.

"That was what you thought Layla needed protecting from? A mangy fox?"

Realising he'd been caught out Shane began to blush slightly before sitting up straight and fixing an indignant look on his face.

"Hey those foxes could be vicious! Plus I only taught her the basics the rest of that stuff she learned off someone else it's them you should be angry with not me."

The smile suddenly disappeared off Jason's face at this knowing that Layla hadn't learnt those moves by being taught but rather that they had been inflicted on her...specifically by a certain Torres who was currently weaving through the crowd closely followed by his blonde sister.

Following Kyle and Casey across the room his eyes darkened as he realised where they were heading in Layla's direction and as quickly as he reappeared at their table he was gone.

Nate watched intently as his brother got up and purposely cut off Kyle and Casey before walking over to Layla and Danny. Leaning down briefly to whisper something to them Jason quickly straightened up and glared at Kyle angrily before storming out of the mess hall. A couple of seconds later Layla and Danny had dumped their almost untouched lunch in the nearest bin and were racing out after him.

Slowly Mitchie and Nate turned to each other, looking at each other with utter confusion.

"What the hell was that all about?" Shane asked. Obviously he was just as confused as Nate and Mitchie were.

Turning back to his best friend,Nate shrugged.

"Dunno. Probably wanted to talk to them about their next class...which by the way starts in 12 minutes." He said as he got up and threw the remainder of his lunch in the bin. "Better go set up before it gets too late. See you next lesson Shane and don't you dare think about skipping on me again. If I have to deal with her tantrums so do you!"

With that Nate was gone dragging Mitchie along with him to _"help."_- a word which had recently become codeword for _"talking about Layla and Jason without anyone else listening."_-and Shane was left with the others to try at work out what Nate could've meant.

It took him a while to work out but finally it clicked.

_Today was Friday and Friday afternoons after lunch was...._

"Nooo!" Shane groaned loudly as he threw his head into his hands.

Today was Friday! That meant that he, Jason and Nate would not only be teaching song writing to a bunch of teenagers for the next 2 hours but that one of those teenagers would be Layla! No wonder everyone had been so perky in all his other classes today. They were all looking forward to seeing the four of them in the same room for the first time without anyone to drag them away from each other. It was an instant recipe for drama and disaster!

Throwing his head down on the table and began banging it repeatedly. He would've done some serious damage if Ella hadn't seen the signs and stuck her coat under his head after the first couple of hits.

They let him throw a tantrum for a while moaning and groaning about how he would have to spend the next two hours of his life trapped in a room with his band mates, 15 nosey teenagers and his destructive sister before they got bored and left him-all apart from one.

When he finally ran out of steam he slowly raised his head expecting to find the others waiting so was shocked when instead of looking up at his friend's faces he was met with only one

"You finished?" She asked softly waiting until he nodded before continuing. "Good. Now you have had you're little freak out-something you Gray's seem to be remarkably good at-you're gonna sit there, shut up and listen to what I have to say."

"But.." Shane began but Caitlyn cut him off with such a sharp look that he didn't even bother to finish his sentence. Instead he mimed zipping his lips shut, throwing away the key and sat back patiently waiting for her to dish out whatever information she deemed so important that she had to wait until the others were gone to share it.

This seemed to make her happy because the pinched up angry look on her face was soon replaced with one of sympathy yet again as she looked at the person she saw as her older brother-hugely annoying, over dramatic brother but still her brother none the less.

"All that stuff you said about being worried that Layla would kick your ass. I believe that...honestly I do. I've seen what your sister's like and if she could do something like that to Nate when she was only 9 I can understand why you'd be scared-I would be too- but I also think _I'm _right. Before you jump in and start telling me I'm wrong just hear me out.

Sure you and Layla haven't been on the best terms since she came back, hell your constantly fighting, bickering ,name calling and attacking each other, but when you're not I've never seen you so happy.

Layla was a huge part of your life and when you had to leave her behind you changed-I might not have known you back then but I know enough to know now that you were-_are_- a better person when you with her.

Now I may never understand your relationship...to be honest how close you, Nate, Jason and Layla are is completely alien to me but I know that once it was the most important thing to you and that's why you don't want to talk to her, to apologise, because you're scared that if you do and she doesn't accept-if she walks away from you forever-you'll never get that back and that scares the hell out of you."

Caitlyn knew she was right when Shane suddenly turned away, tears filling his eyes as he stared out the window obviously trying to find a way of talking himself out of it but failing miserably. Shane wasn't exactly known for talking about his feelings. Occasionally he would with Mitchie but with anyone else it was nearly impossible so to see him like this shocked Caitlyn. She was shocked even more so when he finally turned back to look at her, tears still in his eyes as he told her the truth.

"You know the one thing I missed the most when she was gone?" Caitlyn didn't answer knowing that Shane was talking to himself more than her so she just sat back listening intently as he finally let go of his emotions. "I missed the way she would annoy me..._all the time_. Not to be mean or demanding... just because she liked being with me. Especially when I was writing. She would hate that. _"Why are you doing that when you could be playing with me?" _. All the time she would be pulling and tugging at me to come and play,she would never leave me alone..it's was so annoying!

A week or so into our first tour I sat down to write a song and I couldn't do it... I physically couldn't do it. Every time I tried to write I would hit a wall and the more that happened the angrier I got until I just gave up all together. Took me a while to figure out why but I soon realised. It was because she wasn't there. All that time I thought she just wanted attention but I was wrong ..it was so much more than that. She knew that if I didn't have a distraction I would just wind myself up and never get anything done.

She looked after me when I didn't even know I needed looking after and instead of doing the same for her I left. It was then I realised what a huge mistake I made but by then it was too late. I thought by coming back I might be able to fix it, that we could be the way we were before. But I was wrong and now....now...."

Shane trailed off as his eyes dropped down to his coffee cup never once taking his eyes of it as the two of them sat there in silence.

"I'm not scared of her hurting me, or of us not being the same way we were before..not really." Shane whispered softly as he raised his eyes to look at Caitlyn. "I'm scared that if I go talk to her-if I apologise- she'll suddenly realise she doesn't need me any more and stopping looking after me the way I stopped looking after her. I'm scared that after all this time of staying away to protect her I hurt her more than I ever could by coming back and most of all I'm scared that I'm going to lose her forever when I've only just got her back."

A silent tear slowly made it's way down Shane's face and Caitlyn gasped at this open show of emotions before reaching out and grabbing his hand, squeezing it supportively.

"You're not going to lose her." She told him determinedly, never breaking eye contact with him as she continued squeezing his hand gently. " She loves you Shane anyone can see. I mean would she have reacted the way she did to everything if she didn't? When she thought we were all going to leave it was you she wanted not us if that's not a sign that she still needs you I dunno what is!"

"But I said all that stuff about her.."

Caitlyn scoffed.

"Shane I was there when it started remember? You might not have behaved in the most appropriate way but Layla sure as hell isn't completely blameless either! She said that stuff because she was angry and wanted to take that out on you. She knew what you thought about her and that by telling the whole room what she got up to in her past that you would freak out.

Layla provoked you and you took the bait. She played you because she wanted to fight with you, she wanted to let go of all that pent up anger she's been carrying around for years...she just didn't expect you to argue back like you did. At the end of the day you and your sister are more alike than you know..that's what's got you into this crazy mess!

You're both scared of losing each other, both angry about the time you've spent apart and the experiences you've missed out on together but most of all you're both too stubborn to sit down and actually have a conversation with each other!"

"It still doesn't make everything right between us Cait! Sure we might have said that stuff to each other out of anger but it doesn't change the fact that we both said it. Those words can't be taken back, I can't make her forget what I said..I can't make myself forget what I said and I sure as hell can't forget everything she told me. I wish I could...God you have no idea how much I wish I could get rid of the image of my little sister like that but I can't. So tell me Caitlyn how exactly are we supposed to get past that? How can we ever have a close relationship again after everything that's happened?"

Shane shook Caitlyn's hand off his and settled back in his seat, sighing heavily as he stared out through the huge double glazed window and out towards the stage that was currently being set up for tonight's camp fire jam. Watching him for a second Caitlyn tried to come up with an answer but found none.

How could she help someone who thought they were losing a sibling? She had never had the same experience. Her and her sister weren't exactly close compared to others but it paled in comparison to that of Shane and Layla's. In fact the only thing she could think to rival it was...

That's it!

"You know last week when Jason flipped out on me and Mitchie?" She asked softly catching his attention as he turned back to face her nodding slightly as he wondered where this was going.

"Well I've always seen you and Jason as my brothers, Jason more so given the fact that he's actually my brother in law but that's not the point. I thought I knew him and when he reacted like that I didn't know what to do. It was like this person that I thought I knew better than myself was suddenly someone completely new and the more I heard and saw the more I felt like I was losing him..and I didn't know what to do.

When I heard that Jason had left Nate and Layla when they were kids to chase after some girl that was the final straw- it was so unlike him that I was ready to give up, to accept that he was someone I'll never really know but Nate changed my mind. I was ready to give up on him forever but Nate stopped me. Do you want to know how?"

"How?" Shane asked, suddenly captivated by the conversation.

"He told me about when they were younger and how after their parents died what happened between him and Jason. He told me how he realised that the old Jason was gone and that if he was ever to have a proper relationship with his brother he would have to accept that.

He would have to forget that person and focus on the things they had now, the things they still had in common,and build a new relationship. Maybe that's what you need to do with Layla. You need to forget that little girl who used to annoy you all the time to play and get to know the new Layla, the one that's right here, right now."

Shane thought about it for a minute before leaping out of his chair and hugging Caitlyn excitedly, a huge grin across his face.

"That's a brilliant idea Cait and I think I have the perfect thing to bond over!"


	35. Chapter 32

**A/N: Hey here's the newest chapter of the other gray hopefully the other one should be up soon-once I've worked out how to finish it. Hope you like it and sorry if the layouts really weird. For some reason this chapter has been uploaded differently from the others.**

**I hope it's just a glitch cos it took me 4 tries and ages to try and sort it out!**

**Lol hope you enjoy this and thank you for reading and reviewing!**

**BTW anyone on summer hols have fun and for those like me living in England (especially around london where it's supposed to be BOILING!)enjoy the heatwave-lol we deserve some sun for once so enjoy it! I know I am! :P**

**xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 32**

"Are you sure this will work? I mean she's pretty pissed at us-well you mainly-but still... how do you know that this just won't make things worse?" Nate asked worriedly as he glanced over at Layla who was sitting at the other end of the classroom chatting with Danny and Jason like usual before returning his gaze to his highly excitable friend.

With just seconds to spare Shane had come rushing into the classroom at full speed rambling on about how Nate and Caitlyn were geniuses and he had suddenly come up with some master plan to get Layla to forgive them. At first Nate was flattered by the compliment but the second he heard what Shane was planning he couldn't help but feel like this was going to end up backfiring and biting him on the ass.

Shane obviously didn't share the same worries as he shook his head assertively, completely confident in his plan working.

"It'll work-trust me."

Nate sighed in defeat. There was no way that he could talk Shane out of it. Not when he was like this-he hadn't seen Shane this excited in ages-so he did the only thing he could to.

"Okay I'll go along with it but if this comes back and bites me on the ass I'm gonna blame you."

"It wont. Jeez have a little faith in me will you!"

Nate rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. I better get Jase...fill him on in the plan. You can do the rest." He mumbled as he wandered off towards the back of the room waiting until he had managed to separate Jason from Layla and Danny before filling him in on the plan. Anxiously Shane waited on the sidelines for the okay from the brothers who were still whispering furiously to each other.

Suddenly they became silent and the blank look on Jason's face became thoughtful as he thought it through before looking at Shane and tipping his head slightly indicating that he was it on the plan.

* * *

Grinning Shane nodded back before letting off a loud wolf whistle and the campers quickly began rushing around to find a seat while the guys sneaked off into the back back room where the instruments were kept. Making a note of where Layla and Danny were sitting Shane quickly got on with starting the class, recapping everything that had happened last lesson and ensuring there wasn't any problems before moving onto the most important part-the part where he could finally put his plan into action.

"Okay so as you all know Camp Fire Jam is tonight and all of you are more than welcome to sign up if you haven't done so already. This Jam is for you guys to go up there and show everyone exactly what you're made of but before you do we would like you to show us."

The campers instantly started murmuring to each other with a sense of panic at the idea of getting up and performing a song they'd only just started in front of a group for the first time-that is all accept one.

From the back of the room Layla calmly watched her brother with suspicion in her eyes. She had seen the way he had come rushing into the cabin and the interaction between him and Nate before the latter had come over and dragged Jason away for a similar conversation less than a couple of minutes later. They were up to something the only thing was she couldn't work out what.

Shane caught the look in his sister's eyes and his smile faltered for a second at the thought of her working out what he was planning and that was the last thing he wanted. If she found out she'd be out of there like a shot and he'd never get this chance again. Not wanting to let it slip by he quickly set about picking people to come up and perform.

The first was a young girl, not much older than 13 with long curly red hair who looked like she was about to pass out any second due to stage fright. Even though she was scared she managed to get through all that she had written and by the time she sat back down was smiling happily to herself. Shane congratulated her truly happy with the progress she had made before moving on to someone else.

A couple more people got up and performed, some better than others before Shane finally focused his attention on the back row-the row where Layla was currently sitting. The second he moved on to her row it clicked in her head what he was up to and she shook her head furiously at him long before he called out her name.

"LJ-Your turn."

The siblings glared at each other for a second (the most eye contact they'd had all day) before Layla finally relented knowing that she couldn't refuse. She was the camper in this situation and Shane was the councillor-no matter how much she wanted to she couldn't refuse him. So,with a groan, she got up and stomped up to her position at the front of the class. She shot Shane a sarcastic smile before turning to the group and starting.

* * *

"Okay I guess I have no choice but to play you what I've written so far. I haven't quite put the finishing touches on it so bare with me..." She shuffled around slightly nervous for a second before grabbing the microphone of Shane and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

**Been there done that messed around**

**I'm having fun don't put me down**

**I'll never let you sweep me off my feet**

**I wont let you in again**

**The messages I've tried to send**

**My information's just not going in**

**Burning bridges shore to shore**

**I break away from something more**

**I'm not to, not to love until it's cheap**

**Been there done that messed around**

**I'm having fun don't put me down**

**I'll never let you sweep me off my feet**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**I wont let you turn around**

**And tell me now I'm much too proud**

**To walk away from something when it's dead**

**Do do do your dirty worst**

**Come out to play when you are hurt**

**There's certain things that should be left unsaid**

**Tick tick tick on the watch**

**Life's too short for me to stop**

**Oh baby your time is running out**

**I wont let you turn around**

**And tell me now I'm much too proud**

**All you do is fill me up with doubt**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

**This time baby I'll be bulletproof**

* * *

Everyone in the room where shocked into silence not only by how good Layla's voice and the song was but by the meaning of the lyrics as well. The most shocked of them all was Shane who stared at her in disbelief wondering more now than ever what had happened to his sister while he was gone before Jason's loud cough pulled him out of it. Right now the plan was more important-once that was sorted out he could work out what was had been going on in Layla's life before he came back (and more importantly who with).

"Er that was great Layla-good job." The rest of the class began clapping encouragingly and Layla smiled slightly before moving away only to be held back by Shane. "Ah not so fast you see when I called you up here I was after another song-one a little bit more specific."

Layla looked at him confused.

"What? I've only ever written completely written three songs in my life. I sang one at opening jam and another one now, the only other one I've written was with...." It suddenly dawned on her what he was getting at and she gasped in anger. " Oh no! No way! Nuh uh! I wont do it!"

Not taking no for an answer,Shane smirked at her before nodding his head slightly and out of no where Jason and Nate reappeared playing an all too familiar tune. Grabbing another microphone he threw the other one back to Layla and stared at her expectantly, a cheeky smile on his face as he looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Now would be the time to start singing-unless you want to look stupid." He leaned down and whispered in her ear as Jason and Nate came to stand behind them grins spread across their faces as they watched her debating with herself, eventually giving in with a sigh.

"I hate you." She whispered darkly causing Shane to chuckle slightly under his breath.

"I know." He smirked back glad at least that she was talking to him again even if it was to tell him that she hated him. Hey it was progress! Before Shane could smirk any more the song started and the room was suddenly filled with Layla's voice.

(a/n: Okay so Layla's part is **bold**, Shane's is _Italic_, Nate's is underline and all of them is...well.. **_ALL OF THEM! _**:P)

**Come on guys tell me what we're doing**

**We're hangin' around when we could be all over the place**

_The sun is shinin' just the way we like it_

_Let's get out of this hallway Show the world our face_

**It's Friday but there's nowhere to go**

**Anywhere is cool but we're not going home**

And we can do anything we wanna do It's all up to me and you

_**All:**_ _**Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above**_

_**These skateboard heels all right so cool**_

_**Everyone is waiting for us**_

_**So anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

_**Anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

**Layla:** **Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh**

**We got the party with us**

**Oh oh oh oh oh oh**

**We got the party with us**

_Radio, let me be a DJ_

_I'll turn you up because we're moving 'till we're on a roll_

_** Everyone is dancing to their own beat**_

_**And letting go, everybody's got a soul**_

_** It's Friday and there's nowhere to be**_

_**We're kickin' it together it's so good to be free**_

_**We got each other and that's all we need**_

_**The rest is up to you and me**_

_**Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above**_

_**These skateboard heels all right so cool**_

_**Everyone is waiting for us**_

_**So anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

_**Anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

We got the party with us

We got the party with us

**Wooo!**

**We got the party!**

**Life is for dreamers and I'm a believer**

**That nothing can stand in our way**

**To start the place to play**

_** Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above**_

_**These skateboard's here's our ride so pull on up**_

_**So pull on up everyone is waiting for us**_

_**Anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

_**Anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

_**Turn this park into a club the stars and lights and the moon is a vibe from above**_

_**We got the party with us**_

_**Skateboards, heels**_

_**So pull on up everyone is waiting for us**_

_**Anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**We got the party with us**_

_**Anywhere we are**_

_**Anywhere we go**_

_**Everybody knows**_

_**Oh oh oh**_

_**We got the party, we got the party, we got the party, we got the party with us**_

_**Oh oh oh oh oh**_

_**We got the party with us**_

* * *

Before Layla even knew what was going on the entire classroom exploded into applause a thousand times louder than before and she had been swept into a group hug by Jason. She was in such a state of shock that she didn't notice who else she was hugging until Jason let go and she was quickly picked up and twirled excitedly around the room by another pair of familiar but completely different arms.

"You were great LJ!" Nate exclaimed as he finally put her down on the ground and grinned at her excitedly. "Not that I didn't love your other songs or when you used to sing that before...but that time...wow."

Layla grinned at him as he continued to ramble excitedly.

"Thanks...I think. You weren't so bad yourself Nathaniel. In fact if I didn't know better I would think that you'd been practising."

Nate blushed slightly and she laughed deeply before rushing forward and hugging him.

"Does this mean I'm forgiven then?" He whispered in her ear as he hugged her tighter, glad to have her back again.

Although their relationship wasn't as strong as Layla and Jason's or even her and Shane's (when they were younger at least) Nate had always loved Layla like a sister and was more than glad she was back in their lives. In fact he found himself at a loss these last couple of days and the thought of having his "little sister" and best friend so close again only to have her pulled away again caused him great pain so when she let out a snort and hit him playfully on the shoulder he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief because he knew before she even said it that everything would be okay and he couldn't have been happier.

"Honestly Nate did you still think I was mad at you? Sure what you did was idiotic and stupid but hey! You've always been like that how can I hold that against you?"

He looked at her with a puzzled expression as he tried to work out what she was getting at.

"So why did you.." His eyes narrowed and he gasped. "You've been playing me! You just wanted to see me squirm! Why I should..."

Layla raised an eyebrow at him questioningly and he stopped. Both of them knew full well that he would never do anything.

Before they could get any further though there was a loud cough from behind them and they turned around to see Shane hovering around nervously behind them, one hand rubbing the back of his neck and the other shoved in the front left side pocket of his jeans as he watched Layla hesitantly. Ever so slightly his eyes moved to Nate and quickly getting the picture he nodded quickly at Shane before slowly backing away leaving the two siblings to talk to each other.

"Erm..you were really good L...I mean really good." He mumbled nervously as he dropped his gaze to the ground.

Layla was shocked by his actions and it showed briefly on her face and in her eyes before she managed to replace it with a cold hard expression of anger.

In truth she was more shocked and confused than angry. Shane never acted like this the whole time she had known him. She'd never once seen him nervous around her after an argument or squabble (which although never really serious were common between the two of them growing up). She had always given him the silent treatment, come up with some way to get back at him which of course would make him even angrier they would end up throwing stuff or wrestling (the Gray siblings were quite violent compared to their friends!) and then everything would be okay therefore the idea that he would not only make the first move but actually be scared of her reaction shocked her to the core.

This wasn't what she wanted!

Of course she wanted Shane to realise that she was different, that they were different and move on but she never wanted him to be worried of how she would react!

No matter how much they argued and how much she denied it and fought against it she loved her brother and deep down could never hate him nor blame him for what he'd done. But neither could she truly forgive him-at least not yet-so instead of doing the right thing and actually talking to him she replaced her feeling of sympathy and confusion for her brother with an emotion she was more familiar with-anger.

"Let me guess that's what this was all about." She snapped. "You thought you'd drag me up here and get me to sing that stupid song with you and everything would be fine again. We'd be one big happy family and move on right?"

Shane's eyes widened in shock as his eyes snapped up to look at her.

This wasn't what he wanted and was everything that he feared. She was going off on one and Shane was her target this was the last thing he ever wanted!

"What?! No! I just..."

"You just what Shane?! Just wanted to drag me up here and make me feel like an idiot just so that you could feel better about the fact that you screwed up all those years ago.

Just face it Shane! You always try to do the right thing and always get it wrong! Why don't you just give it up! No matter how many songs or apologies or anything you do is ever going to make up for what you did!"

"Oh right so you can't forgive me but you can forgive them!" Shane snapped back, grateful that Nate and Jason had the rest of the group occupied enough that they weren't watching him and his sister fight again. He'd had enough of having an audience whenever his temper became frayed and Layla's last comment had been the final straw.

He had tried Caitlyn's theory and tried to reconnect with the new Layla but it was clear that she was having none of it and the only way to get through to her was to behave the same way they always had which of course meant more fighting.

"That's different." She argued back but her eyes never made contact with his for they both knew it was a lie.

"Why? Because what they did was _soo_ much better right? Nate came up with that plan to force Jason into lying to you not me! You know that right? I realised what we were doing was wrong but Nate wouldn't take no for an answer and blackmailed him into it but you'd rather forgive him than forgive me!

And Jason! Jason _lied_ to you...about everything! Musical Jam, Tess, going into care... _everything_. All he ever does is lie to you bur you don't seem to care when it comes to him! In your eyes he can do no wrong!

He knew all about you going into care-in fact he agreed to it-he was the only one over 18 and no longer a minor so if any one should be to blame it should be him!

But _no_! _He's_ the first one you forgive! Do you have any idea what it's been like the last 24 hours watching you laughing and joking with him when you can't bare to look at me?!"

"Don't you_ dare_ blame Jason or Nate! You're my _BROTHER_ Shane _not_ them!"

"Exactly! So how come you can forgive them but not me?! They're just as much to blame as I am so how come you can forgive them but the idea of even talking to me disgusts you?!"

She growled in frustration and threw her arms up into the air as her eyes scrunched up in anger.

"Because that's what they do Shane! Jason's always doing the thing he thinks is right and getting it wrong and Nate's an idiot. He'll do anything to protect you and Jase no matter how stupid it may be but you're supposed to be different Shane you're supposed to know me better but you don't know me at all!

Nate and Jason were just being Nate and Jason but you? All you've done is screw up my life over and over and over and I am sick of it! I am sick and tired of you making decisions about my life without my knowledge and completely screwing me over! It's not fair and as my brother you should know better but obviously you don't because here you are doing it again!"

Shane stared at her incredulously.

"Is that was this is all about? Me leaving you at Sunflower House?" He saw the slight flicker of recognition in her eyes and screamed in frustration.

"How many times do we have to go over this! I thought I was doing what was right how was I supposed to know what would happen?!"

"What did you think would happen?!" She shrieked loudly catching the attention of Nate and Jason who sensing something big was about to happen quickly explained to the rest of the campers that classes were cancelled so they could practice for Final jam and shoved them out of the door before racing to make sure they were within grabbing distance of the brother and sister in case things turned nasty.

"You knew that I needed you! I always have so what the hell did you think would happen when you left Shane?! You're the only real family I have yet you thought leaving me was "_for the best_"?! Can't you see how fucked up that is! Christ Shane all you ever think is about yourself you never cared about what would happen to me when you left you just-"

"SHUT UP!JUST SHUT UP!" Shane shouted so loudly and with so much anger that Layla jumped in shock at the force of it and she cowered slightly.

Never ever in her life had she ever seen her brother so angry that he was physically shaking and the sight scared her almost to death and certainly shocked her into silence.

"Ever since you've got here all you've done is have a go at me for what I did and I am SICK OF IT!

I was 17 Layla the same age you are now. Are you telling me that if you'd lost the only parent you've ever knew died after years of watching her slowly waste away, leaving you to look after a scared 10 year old girl are you telling me you wouldn't make the same decision!?"

Layla's gaze softened slightly as she realised he was right.

"I thought so. So don't stand there and tell me I screwed your life up, that you were _so _much worse off than me because you don't know the half of it! You weren't the only one who suffered but your the only one who's selfish enough to think that everything is about you! We all suffered Layla and I am sick of you always trying to make out that you were the only one...I sick of everything."

Stunned Layla watched as he turned and stormed out of the room leaving her standing there with Jason and Nate staring after him speechlessly. It was like time had frozen as she stood there dumb stuck waiting for him to come back before she realised nothing was going to happen and her gaze fell to the floor as she tried to hold the tears in.

"He didn't come back." She whispered softly, a single tear falling from her eyes and falling to the ground.

* * *

"Did you really expect him to?" Someone snapped and Layla gasped suddenly remembering that she wasn't alone as her head snapped up to look up into the sad and disappointing eyes of Nate and Jason.

"He never walks away...he always comes back." She whispered earning an incredulous scoff from Nate as he raised a disbelieving eyebrow at her.

"If you were him would you? You've just told him that every thing he's ever done has hurt you, that his coming back was the worst thing he could ever do to you, almost as bad as him leaving you in the first place! If you were him would you come back?"

She lowered her eyes to the ground again in shame as she shook her head slightly.

Of course she wouldn't-no one in their right mind would after the way she had treated him.

"You have no idea what he went through do you?" A softer voice added and Layla raised her head to look into the slightly less hostile eyes of the eldest Carter brother. He saw the look in her eyes and sighed.

"You didn't even bother to ask did you?"

"Why would I?"

Nate screamed in frustration as he ran his hands through his hair in annoyance.

"You just don't get it do you?!" He yelled. "You weren't the only one who suffered in all this yet all you seem to care about is yourself!"

"He was the one who left NOT ME!" She yelled back angered by the fact that he was not only taking Shane's side but that he had the nerve to call her selfish after everything he had done to her and Jason for his own personal gain.

He wasn't exactly looking out for her best interests or even Jason's then so why should she listen to him now?!

"So what? That means your life was _so_ much worse than his? Is that what you're getting at?"

Her eyes quickly darted to Jason and the two shared a secret look before she shrugged slightly and turned back to Nate giving him her answer.

"Something like that." She mumbled and Nate groaned again in frustration.

"God Layla how could you be so selfish and immature and..and..Jason help me out here before I do something stupid."

Jason sighed loudly and stepped in for his brother who had walked off the other side of the room to cool down.

"I think what my brother is trying to say is that although went you went through was terrible and we will forever feel guilty about it you weren't the only one who got hurt by this-we all did...Shane more than the rest."

Layla's stomach twisted at he thought of her brother being in pain and any feelings of anger she had towards him disappeared as she threw herself dejectedly into the nearest chair and covered her face with her hands in defeat. As much as she may hate him at times, want to scream and fight with him, she still loved her brother and the idea of him being in pain and her not knowing made her feel sick to her stomach and in that moment she suddenly realised how Shane felt whenever she told him about her past.

Layla felt a wave of guilt wash over her at the thought and it was all she could do not to break out into tears.

"Tell me." She whispered silently, her voice thick with unshed tears just waiting to fall.

"Are you sure?" By this time both brothers had calmed down, saddened by the desolate look on their friend's face and were sitting on either side of her watching her with sympathetic eyes. They knew that she still loved and cared for her brother deeply no matter how angry she may seem to be and knew that although she needed to know the truth it could cause her untold amounts of pain and sadness-something they never wanted to see her go through.

She nodded silently as she looked down at the table she was sitting behind, unable to say anything. She knew too that whatever they were about to say would be hard on everyone and suddenly found herself unable to say a word. The room was eerily silent before Jason suddenly sat forward, grabbed her hand gently and began recalling the untold story that had been a huge part of their lives ever since she left.

"After your mum died Shane was devastated, not just upset but completely and totally destroyed. Rachel was a lot sicker than you thought, than any of us thought, but Shane felt that it was his duty as a good son and brother to look after her himself and shield you from just how bad it really was. When she died he was convinced that it was his fault and that he'd failed her and you in some way. After the funeral he just got worse, always shutting himself away, bottling it up, blaming himself until he finally snapped one day and lashed out."

"I remember that!" Layla exclaimed as the memories of her last years with Shane and her mother suddenly came flooding back.

"I was in my room and I heard loads of crashing noises in the front room so I went out and looked. The whole front room was trashed and when I asked what happened Shane started screaming and yelling at me. I spent the night at yours with Sandy and Nate while you stayed with Shane. He came over and apologised the next day. I forgot about it until now."

Jason nodded sadly as he remembered the day when she had turned up at their door sobbing nosily as tears streamed down her face.

"That's when we knew he couldn't handle it. Shane would've never shouted at you like that before. He hated seeing you upset, still does, and when you came over crying your eyes out because he shouted at you we knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it. Of course he felt bad about it afterwards and convinced himself that he was fine and that he could handle looking after you but we knew what would happen. He would snap again and again and it would only get worse unless we did something about it.

That's why when me and Nate found out that we had joint guardianship of you we told him that the best thing would be to put you in to care. We didn't tell Sandy because we knew that she would fight to keep you and then Shane would never have left."

"But I didn't want him to leave! You had no right to force him into it!" Layla screamed angered that they'd forced Shane's hand into putting her into care.

"He had to Layla!" Nate yelled back. "He was freaking out LJ the only thing that kept him from completely losing it was the band and his music! Music had got him through everything Layla how could you just expect him to throw that all away?!"

"I didn't!" She screamed back at him. " But he should've stayed! Why wouldn't you let him stay?! We could've been fine! We would've been fine!"

"No you wouldn't of Layla and you know it." Jason added calmly shooting a look at the two volatile members of their little group.

"Shane needed the chance to break down, to grieve and he couldn't do that if you were around. Shane has always been more worried about you than he's ever been about himself. If we hadn't signed that record deal and put you into care he would've given up his dreams and never had the chance to move on.

He would bottle everything in again and that could only end in trouble...for both of you."

Layla snorted loudly in bitter amusement.

"Well that worked out well didn't it?! I might've missed out a lot over the last couple of years but I'm pretty sure he went off the rails a little don't you think? Or was that all part of the plan?"

Nate winced a little and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, knowing he'd been caught out.

"Okay I admit things didn't go too well after we left it but that was part of the reason why we had to leave you for so long. After we left Shane was the first one to realise what a huge mistake we'd made but by then it was too late. We were on the road all the time, moving from place to place playing anywhere and anything to get attention. We didn't want you to be around that, most of the time we didn't want to be around it but there was no choice.

That's what pushed him over the edge. He knew that he had made a mistake but he couldn't go back and fix it. After that everything went downhill. He couldn't handle the grief at losing you and your mum or the guilt so did whatever he could to make it go away.

In that sense what you and Shane went through wasn't that different. You both did whatever you could to avoid the pain, to make it go away in whatever destructive way you could. You two are more alike than you think."

She narrowed her eyes at him, her blood beginning to boil at his suggestion.

"One small difference in your theory there..he had you two to set him straight, to be there for him, I didn't."

"We tried." Jason took over as he looked at her calmly. Unlike his brother he could keep his temper a little better and sensing another argument between the two jumped in before anything could happen again.

"When he turned 18 we reminded him of his promise, told him that things were good enough now, that we were settled enough for you to come back but he only got worse. He demanded that we stopped talking to you, thinking about you, speaking about you because we were a bad influence and all we would do would make you think he was coming back when he had no intention to. After that any time we tried to talk about you he would scream and yell then go off a get into trouble.

"Like what?"

"Damn you really we're living under a rock weren't you?" Layla scowled at Nate's comment. In return he just rolled his eyes at her and stuck his tongue out.

"Oh real mature." She shot back earning hersel fnaother disapproving snort from Nate.

"Please you're one to talk about being mature."

Sensing another fight (and a huge headache) coming on Jason stepped in before they could start bickering again.

"I think that's something Shane should tell you about not us." He said calmly as the Nate and Layla, slouched back in their chairs pouting childishly as they stared each other down. "All you need to know for now is Shane was a mess. He did some stuff he wasn't proud of, that we weren't proud of and he ended up turning into someone we didn't know and sure as hell didn't like because of it."

"That's how he ended up at Camp Rock again." Nate cut in after he'd finished pouting, finally deciding it was better to tell her the truth and get it over with rather than antagonising her more.

"We were talking about you not knowing he was listening and he got so angry that he completely trashed his dressing room before finally storming off the set. That's when we realised that this was too big for us to deal with so we sent Shane here. And things began to change."

"He met Mitchie." Layla stated and the two of them chuckled slightly.

"Yeah he met Mitchie and she knocked some sense into his stupid head. She didn't know about you of course-no Shane left that little piece of information until after they were married-but she knew enough to see that really he was a good guy underneath all that attitude. It took her a while but she finally got back the old Shane, or at least the closest thing to it, he wasn't completely back because Shane just isn't the same without you."

"That's where I came to the rescue again."

* * *

Their heads snapped back to see Mitchie standing in the doorway smirking at them, Caitlyn standing behind her, her face as pinched up and annoyed as Nate's had been.

"The second Caitlyn told me about her little chat with your brother I knew something like this would happen." She walked into the room and grabbed the chair in front of a shocked looking Layla and turned it around so that she was sitting directly in front of her.

Layla blushed with embarrassment as she looked down at the table again tracing patterns into it with her fingernail.

"How much of that did you hear?" She whispered dreading the answer as Mitchie looked at her intently, her eyes a mixture of sadness and disappointment as she looked at her sister in law.

"Oh we turned up round about the time that you started shouting at him. Isn't that right Cait?"

The other woman nodded and Layla groaned as her head fell onto the table with a heavy thunk.

"Great so basically everyone knows what an idiot I've been."

"Glad to see you've finally noticed." Caitlyn snapped angrily as she glared at Layla's head.

Not even when she had found out about Nate and Tess had she been as angry as she was right now! At least Nate didn't realise the pain he was causing and had no intention of hurting anyone. Layla on the other hand knew exactly what she was doing and if one thing annoyed Caitlyn more than anything it was people hurting each other for no reason.

"All you've done since you've got here is make Shane feel bad about a decision he made when he was a teenager. What he did was out of love not hatred or cruelty and all you've done is throw it back in his face!"

"Caity.." Jason said warningly seeing the pained expression on Layla's face but she just ignored him.

"This lot will tip toe around you because they think that you can't handle to truth, that you'll go off and to something stupid and reckless like the last time but I'm not like that. I love you like a sister we all do but I am sick of all this crap! It's time you grow up and start acting like an adult not some spoilt little brat!

You're brother went through hell and back just so that he could get you back here again and it's time that you start recognising just how much Shane's done for you!"

Gasping loudly as she tried to catch her breath after her rant Caitlyn leaned back tiredly against Nate who wrapped an arm around her waist, the other rubbing her arm supportively as he stared at her admiration and love shining in his eyes.

That was one thing he had always loved about Caitlyn, her ability to be direct, to the point and stick up for what she believed in (no mater how infuriating it could be or how many fights it caused.)

"She's right you know." Mitchie said softly, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the group as she leaned over and tucked a stay piece of Layla's hair behind her ear.

The action caused the teenager to look up and Mitchie sighed deeply at the look of despair in her eyes, knowing that what Caitlyn had said had really gotten to her.

"Ever since I met him Shane was always bottling things in, even when I thought I knew everything about him I always had this feeling there was something he was holding back-just within my grasp but I was never quite able to reach it-able to know him completely. Eventually he caved and that's when I found out about you. At first I was shocked not at what he'd done, I could never imagine what it would be like to be in that situation, but that he'd waited until after we were married to tell me. I thought it was because he didn't trust me but now I know it's because he didn't trust himself.

After that it was like a floodgate had been opened and all those memories he had of the two of you came flooding back. He would talk about you all the time, tell me what you were like, the things you used to do together and every time he did I could see a little bit more of him come alive until suddenly he was almost a totally different person-a happier person. That's why I suggested he get you back."

Layla gasped and looked at her wide eyed.

"You were the one who told him to come back! Why?!"

"Because you need each other! I didn't even know you and I knew that, I could see it in the way he talked about you-even in the way the guys talked about you-I couldn't bare to see them like that any more so I told him to go for it."

"But what took him so long? I mean you said he started talking about me a couple of months after you got married. You've been married for over a year now-what took him so long to come back?"

"He was scared." Mitchie stated simply as she leaned back in her seat and watched her sister in law intently, finding the range of emotions flitting across her face as she spoke strangely fascinating.

The whole time Layla had been here it was like she had been wearing a mask, like she could only show certain emotions and feeling but now it was like all the different expressions she knew before had suddenly come back, each one reflecting even the slightest change in her emotion as she listened to Mitchie's words.

"He was scared that if after all that time he stayed away to protect you he would finally get you back and hurt you in some way. Can't you see the last couple of weeks have been an absolute nightmare for him?! It's like everything he's ever feared is suddenly coming true."

"But it's not his fault!" Layla shouted angrily as she jumped out of her seat, sending it crashing to the ground as she began pacing the studio floor.

"All he's ever done since I got back is look after me! He hasn't done anything wrong! It's me, it's all me I pushed him away!"

By now she was hysterical, running her hands through he hair in agony as her pacing increased, her feet stomping angrily across the floor until suddenly she stopped and turned to face Mitchie, her eyes wide with horror.

"What did I do Mitchie?! I've ruined everything!"

Shaking her head in defiance Mitchie rushed up to her and gathered her into a tight hug, hugging her close as the younger woman's breath hitched painfully as she tried to keep her tears in check.

"You haven't ruined anything okay? Shane's a big boy he can handle much worse than what you've thrown at him."

"But I've been so horrible Mitch! All this time I've been blaming him for everything that's gone wrong in the past without stopping to think that he was going through the same thing! I've been blaming him for living in the past when I'm the one who keeps dragging it up again every time!

If anyone's to blame for this whole mess it's me! He tries to make it better, to apologise and all I do is make it worse! I'm a terrible person Mitchie!"

* * *

Mitchie opened her mouth to defend her when Caitlyn stepped in, her temper yet again flaring up as she listened to the conversation between her two friends and the direction it had taken.

"You know what you are. You are a mean, terrible person. I don't know why we bother with you."

They all gasped and more tears came to Layla's eyes.

"Caitlyn!" Nate yelled appalled at her behaviour. Sure he had found her honesty refreshing earlier but now it was bordering on crewlty "How could you say something like that?"

Caitlyn just rolled her eyes at him.

"If you had let me finish." she said pointedly glaring at him. " You'd know that I was going to say that yes you are a terrible person but then again we all are at some point.

How many people in this room can say that they haven't done something that they felt so bad about that they hated themselves for it?"

Everyone suddenly looked down and Caitlyn smirked smugly to herself happy that she'd proved her point.

"Exactly."

She stated after a couple of seconds before sighing and walking up to Layla, placing a hand on her shoulder as her voice softened.

"We all do things we're not proud of but it takes courage to stand up and say that you were wrong and to fight for what's right."

"Someone's been watching too much day time tv." Nate muttered sarcastically under his breath but not quite quiet enough for Caitlyn to notice, who swiftly swatted him around the back of his head for his insolence.

"All I'm saying is that the two of you made mistakes. You both said and did things that you were ashamed of and it's gonna be hard to work through it but you can as long as you sit down and talk to each other! Hopefully now you've realised there's always more than one side of the story you'll finally listen to each other."

Layla sniffled a little pushing back the tears as she smiled and leaned forward hugging Caitlyn that was so sudden, unexpected an full of emotion that she was stunned for a couple of seconds before her arms wrapped around the girl, returning the affectionate gesture.

Almost as quickly as it happened she let go, whispered her thanks and sped out of the room.

"What are you doing?" She yelled after her retreating figure. Layla stopped for a second and turned to look at her, a wide grin spread across her face. "I'm going to fix something that should've been fixed a long time ago!"

* * *

**A/n: So? What did you think? Hope you liked it anyway I've had that planned for ages.**

**BTW songs used were Bulletproof by La Roux and We got the party by Hannah Montana (Miley Cyrus) and The Jonas Brothers.**

**Thanks for reading :P**


	36. Chapter 33

**a/n: hey! Sorry again if this is messed up. It must be something that I'm doing wrong either uploading it or when I'm writing it that's making the layout really weird when it's uploaded. **

**Anyway thank you SOOOO much for reading and reviewing! Lol I love seeing that people are reading my sory and like it enough to review. THANK YOU!!!!!**

**:p:p:p**

**Like usual I don't own Camp Rock or any of the characters except the ones I have created and the plot (lol been a while since I said that-thought I'd put it in! XD)**

* * *

Chapter 33

Layla heard rather than saw her brother as she rounded the corner, coming to a stop in front of the furthest cabin on the Camp Rock site. Not many people knew it was there which made it the perfect place for councillors who wanted to practice in quiet or just get away for a while to come and relax.

It was also perfect in that it held every single instrument imaginable, a stage and a recording studio. Just the place someone like Shane would go to blow off some steam.

As she creeped closer to the cabin she could see him frantically pacing the room, moving indecisively from instrument to instrument, trying them out for a couple of minutes before giving up and collapsing down on the piano stool. His head fell down on the instrument with a loud bang and Layla winced at the sound of all the notes being hit at the same time.

Suddenly Shane's head lifted up off the piano and for a shocked moment Layla thought that she had been found out. Of course she wanted to talk to him but at the same time she was nervous so ducked out of the way before he could see her. Fortunately for her he didn't see anything and after a couple of seconds he turned back to the piano, his head hanging dejectedly as his fingers traced over the black and white keys in front of him.

With a sense of slowness and gracefulness Layla never knew her brother possessed he suddenly straightened up and pressed down lightly on the keys creating a melody that was almost second nature to him but completely alien to Layla. Stunned she watched her brother, amazed at how natural he seemed when he was playing, how carefree and her heart hurt at the thought that she had never taken his feelings into consideration the whole time they had been apart.

_How could someone like this someone so kind, gentle and talented ever want to do something to her out of malice?_

_God she'd been so stupid!_

_Shane wasn't the bad guy here! He'd only done what he thought was right and all she had done was throw it back in his face!_

Sadly she watched her brother in awe as he played away wishing now more than ever that she hadn't done the things she had done. If she hadn't maybe then he would be happy rather than playing the sad song he was playing at the moment.

Suddenly the melody changed and Layla held her breath as Shane started singing along softly to the tune he was playing, the words causing a lump to come to her throat and tears to fill her eyes.

* * *

**Take all your tears**

**Throw them in the back seat**

**leave without a second glance**

**somehow I'm to blame for this never ending racetrack you call life**

**So turn right**

**Into my arms**

**Turn right**

**You wont be alone**

**You might**

**Fall off this track sometimes**

**Hope to see you on the finish line**

**Driving all your friends out**

**At your speed, they can't follow**

**Soon you'll be on your own**

**Somehow I'm to blame**

**For this never ending race track you call life**

**So turn right**

**Into my arms**

**Turn right**

**You wont be alone**

**You might **

**Fall off this track sometimes**

**Hope to see you at the finish line**

* * *

The music suddenly stopped and Layla gasped out loud as the piano lid came crashing down; Shane snapped around to face her, his expression furious, his eyes burning.

"Get out of here Layla! You've made your feelings perfectly clear I don't need you to tell me again so get out!" He screamed at her so loudly that she jumper out of shock, not only at being caught out but at the intensity of it.

"I-I don't want to leave." She stammered nervously as she hesitantly made her way further into the room. Every step she got closer Shane became more and more tense until finally he leapt out of his chair and stormed up to her, pushing his face into hers.

"It's not always about what you want Layla! Sometimes it's about what _I _want and I want you to leave. Now. Or so help me God..."

" _" Or so help you God"_ what Shane?"She asked defiantly, finding confidence in herself as Shane's actions stirred those recently buried feelings of anger in her.

It was enough to shock him into stepping back and satisfied with her new found confidence Layla pushed her way past her brother and sat down on the recently vacated piano stool, staring at him intently, her arms folded across her chest.

"You and me are going to talk and neither of us are going to leave until we get this sorted out."

Shane snorted in disbelief but stayed put, his eyes never leaving Layla's as they stared at each other from across the room.

"Oh yeah? You and what army?"

"No army. Just me." She said calmly causing Shane to become unsettled at the calmness of her voice. He'd been expecting anger and screaming bloody murder but not this.

"You can leave when ever you want but we both know you wont."

Shane raised an eyebrow at her incredulously.

"Really? What makes you think that?"

"Because you want to sort this out as much as I do."

"What is there to sort out Layla?! You've already made it perfectly clear that you no longer want me in your life!"

"Do you really think that's true Shane? If I really hated you enough that I no longer wanted you around do you think I would stay?"

His gaze dropped and he stared down at the floor unable to look into her eyes any longer.

"I don't know any more Layla." He mumbled sadly, his earlier bravado suddenly disappearing. "I thought I did..but now... You said that you didn't want me around, that you hated me. Why would you say that if you didn't mean it?"

Layla sighed heavily and jumped off the piano stool to stand beside her brother.

"I said that stuff because I was scared and angry. I was scared that you would leave again and angry that you left in the first place. I thought if I just focused on those emotions that everything would be okay. I just didn't realise that you were hurting to. I should've realised and I'm...I... I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm sorry."

"You're sorry." He asked slowly, disbelief colouring his voice as he looked at her curiously. "Not only are you admitting you were wrong but you're apologising to me?"

Layla nodded enthusiastically, choosing to ignore the sarcasm and shock in his voice at her being the first one to apologise for once.

"I realise what I've been doing, the way I've been acting-well it was wrong of me and I want to apologise. Not just for what happened today but for everything I've done since you came back. It took what happened today to make me realise that I've been treating you like shit when I am as much to blame for this whole mess as you are. So yes Shane I'm admitting that I'm wrong and that I am deeply sorry for what I have done."

Shane's eyebrows raised in shock, almost touching his hairline as his mouth hung open in shock. Layla took this as a sign to continue.

"I never meant to hurt you like this you've got to believe me...it was just that I was so angry for so long. So much shit has happened in my life and I just thought it was easier to sit back and put the blame on you. To convince myself that it was all your fault and that I was paying the price for your actions but I was wrong-so wrong-we all suffered. I didn't realise that until now."

* * *

Layla's words caused him to snap out of his trance like state of shock as his back stiffened and he turned to look at her, fury bubbling in his eyes and under his skin.

"They told you didn't they?" Shane asked although both knew that it was more a statement than a question.

Both he and Layla knew full well that the only way Layla would be shocked enough to swallow her pride and tell Shane she was wrong was if she had been told something about Shane's past to make her realise the truth. Unable to look him in the eyes, knowing how badly he had wanted to keep the truth hidden, Layla looked down at the ground.

Her actions were enough to confirm what Shane was thinking and in a burst of anger he let out a yell of fury before kicking the piano stool sending it flying across the room.

"I told them not to tell you!" He yelled fiercely. Layla gulped nervously knowing Shane was beyond reasoning as he stormed the cabin angrily kicking out at anything in his path. "They swore. They _fucking_ swore they wouldn't tell you!"

"Shane-"

"No Layla No! I made them promise! Swear on their life they wouldn't tell a soul-especially you and they've gone back on their word! There's nothing you or anyone can say to make that okay."

"Shane-"

"No! Layla! Don't make excuses for them they had no right!" Shane stopped for a second his hands clenching into fists by his side before he finally tore across the room heading straight towards the exit.

"Those fucking bastards! I'll kill them!"

"No you won't!" Layla had finally had enough of her brother's ranting and forced herself between him and the door before he could get any further, blocking the way for him to get out.

Shane tried to worm his way around her a few times but she moved with him, blocking him every time, never once leaving a chance for him to sneak through.

"I swear to God Layla, if you don't move out of the way right now I'll..."

"You'll what Shane?" She asked defiantly knowing full well he would do nothing. The earlier anger he had towards her had disappeared and Layla no longer feared her brother harming her but rather the harm that he would cause to Nate and Jason and she wasn't going to let that happen no matter the cost.

The two stared at each other, neither one moving as they squared up to each other. Layla saw her brother's eye twitch slightly and sighed in relief knowing that he was about to give in. She was right and a couple of seconds later Shane sighed in defeat and backed away slightly.

He was still angry, there was no doubt about it, but not angry enough to go out and commit bloody murder like before so Layla cautiously moved away from the door, all the while making sure she was close enough if he decided to change his mind.

"They had no right no tell you Layla." He whispered, more sad than angry as he leaned against the wall of the cabin, sliding down it until his butt hit the floor and he was sitting down. "If anyone should've told you it should've been me. It should be me."

Layla sighed and sat down next to him, linking her arm through his as she leaned her head on his shoulder, sympathetically.

"You know if they hadn't told me I would've left. Just stormed out of there, grabbed my stuff and gone back to Cassie's. It's true I would've."

"Then what's stopping you? It's obviously where you want to be." He said bitterly his eyes travelling to his shoes as he stared intently down at the ground.

"Because that's not where I'm supposed to be. I'm_ supposed_ to be here with you and the guys. That's always where I was always supposed to be... it's just taken a while for us to back to each other."

"Yeah and who's fault was that?! Mine!"

Layla rolled her eyes at her brother's moping and slapped him lightly on the shoulder before laying her head back down.

"Would you stop doing that! I'm here trying to apologise and you're taking all the blame on yourself. Stop stealing my thunder!"

Shane chuckled slightly and Layla grinned slightly knowing that her brother wouldn't be moping around again any time soon if he knew what was good for him.

"You weren't really going to leave where you?" Shane whispered after a while. "I mean not really. You wouldn't right?"

Layla sighed and leaned further into her brother.

"Yeah Shane I was."

He winced and let out a low hiss, dreading the answer to his next question.

"And now?"

"And now ...I'm not." Layla grinned up at him, chuckling slightly when she saw the look of complete happiness on his face before turning serious again.

"When you walked away and didn't come back for one fraction of a second I couldn't help but think if you could walk away and never look back then so could I. I was so angry and upset when you didn't come back that I was ready to walk out, pack my bag and leave. It wouldn't have been the first time I walked away from something important so I figured I could do the same to you."

"Then what made you change your mind?"

"The guys did. They knew I was about to run and that it would be the stupidest thing I had ever done so they stopped me. They made me realise that what I was doing, the way I was treating you, was wrong and that I was being a bitch.

If they hadn't told me I would've never realised how horrible I was being and I know you didn't want me to know but I never would've snapped out of it if they hadn't told me."

"They still shouldn't have told you." Shane pouted slightly causing Layla to laugh at the childishness of it.

"You might think so but if they hadn't I would've never learned the truth and I would have been out that door as fast as you could blink. But now....I think I'll stick around a little while longer. Try and uncover what other dark secrets my brother's been hiding from me. Check to see if there's any more skeletons in his closet."

Shane tensed up again at the idea and Layla sighed.

"I'm joking...kind of. You have your secrets but so have I and if we're gonna be in each others lives from now on it's about time that we stop keeping secrets from each other.

We both did things over the last couple of years that we'd rather the other not know about but the fact is those 7 years happened whether we like it or not and if we want to move on we need to talk about them. No more secrets. Do you understand?"

Shane looked at her questionably before a smirk appeared on his face.

"Look at you acting all grown up! Where did that all come from?"

"Daytime tv." Layla said dryly before adding "And Caitlyn. You'd never think looking at her but she's like an encyclopaedia for this kind of stuff!"

The two of them burst into laughter, the laughs subsiding into giggles and snorts as they suddenly became serious again.

"I promise I'll be a better brother this time La La. No more mistakes."

Taken aback by his words Layla looked at her brother for a minute before grinning at him.

"And I'll promise to be a better sister. Well...at least one that doesn't get angry all the time, runs off and then ends up getting herself arrested. Deal?"

Shane laughed and pulled her towards him, squishing her up into a big bear hug.

"I'll take that as a yes." She squeaked out,finding herself fighting for breath as Shane continued to squeeze her tighter and tighter. Eventually he let go and she fell back gasping for air as he stared at her apologetically.

"So does this mean we're good again?"

The seconds seemed like hours to Shane as he waited for her answer.

"No." She whispered finally causing Shane's face to fall.

"But we're getting there." Layla smiled a little at the look on his face before nudging him slightly bringing him out of his mood as his eyes darted to hers like a light had been turned on her words finally clicked and he grinned at her manically as she began to laugh happily at her brother's sudden change in mood.

* * *

He smiled back as they suddenly became silent again, comfortable around each other for the first time since they'd been reunited.

"Tell me what happened." Layla whispered softly into the silence after a while, seeing Shane wince out of the corner of her eye when she mentioned the past.

"I need to know Shane."

They may have agreed that it was the best thing to get everything out in the open but Shane was sort of hoping that Layla would go first. His curiosity about her life while they had been apart had been eating at him long before he went back for her and even when he was angry at her he couldn't help but wonder what happened to his sister. Unfortunately Layla's curiosity about her brother equalled if not excelled his and she had beaten him to the punch meaning that Shane now had to tell her everything that he had been trying to hide from her long before he even left. He thought about asking her to go first but quickly dismissed it knowing if he did that she would just think he wasn't going to and all hell would break loose as she started another argument.

"What do you want to know?" He asked slowly, finally giving in as he kept his eyes trained on the wall opposite him, unable to look her in the eyes while he told her every little secret he'd been trying to hide.

"Well I guess you could start with mum." Shane winced again, worse then before as his eyes closed like he was in pain.

Instantly Layla felt guilty and wished that she hadn't asked as he continued to keep his eyes shut, his face contorted in pain.

"Or not." She mumbled, unable to look at his pained expression any longer. "I mean we could talk about something else. Like how you met Mitchie or...when you first went on tour-"

"No. No you need to know it's just...I tried so hard to keep it from you, to keep it from everyone and now...." Shane sighed painfully before rubbing his hands over his face, dejectedly. "Mum...mum was sick for a long time LJ."

"How long?" Shane shrugged slightly, still unable to meet her gaze.

"9...10 years before she died... maybe a little longer. It was so long ago L...I can't remember."

Layla looked at him to stunned to talk for a second before something finally clicked in her head and she gasped.

"Wait you said 10 years or more? I was 10 when she died Shane! Are you telling me my _whole_ life my mum was dying and I didn't know it?!"

" Don't be so dramatic she wasn't _dying_. Not when you were born. She was just...sick. It wasn't until you were much older that things went seriously downhill. I had a handle on it for a while. I could deal with it but once she started getting really sick it was just too much."

"So you're telling me that she was still sick when my dad-" Shane growled and his eyes darkened at he use of the word dad to describe their mother's last boyfriend and Layla quickly backtracked before Shane could completely blow his top.

"I mean _he_, when_ he_ left? He knew she was sick before he left but he still left her, left us?"

Shane nodded grimly and Layla could feel her blood boiling.

"One day she was picking me up from school and halfway across the playground, out of nowhere, she just fainted. Fine one minute, flat on the ground the next. They rushed her to hospital and _he_ met us there...eventually. Of course _he_ waited until the bar was closed first before rushing to be with her in her hour of need, the great guy that _he_ is.

Because I was too young they wouldn't tell me what was going on so I waited and waited for him to finally haul his drunken ass to the hospital and finally after 4 hours he showed up. The doctor's rushed him in straight away and told him the news.

I swear to God I've never seen him move that fast. He was in and out of that hospital in less time than it took me to tie my shoe laces and I can tie those things pretty damn quick! Didn't see him for dust afterwards.

Turns out that was when she found out she was expecting you and that now she had started showing symptoms she had 10 years at the most to live. I didn't know at the time, no one would tell me, but once he left and Mum started getting sicker I realised something was going on and made her tell me.

God I was so angry when she told me that he just left! For months she told me it was because he had some job abroad and that he would be back soon and that we could all be together again but the truth was he couldn't hack it. I already knew he couldn't handle me but when he found out about you and that Mum was going to eventually die leaving him to look after us he couldn't handle it and ran away.

We didn't see him again until he turned up long after you were born saying that he was sorry and that he wanted to come but I wouldn't let him back in. The damage had been done so we told him to leave. Haven't heard from him since."

Hot angry tears were coursing down her face by the time he finished and her whole body was shaking in anger. She had never understood why Shane had hated her dad so much and now she knew what he had done she knew why.

"How could he do that?! You were only a child! 7 years old and he left you there, left us because he couldn't hack it! God! I can't believe I stuck up for that guy when he came back! I am _so_ sorry Shane. All this time I thought you were only keeping him away because you hated his guts. I didn't realise you were doing it to protect us."

Shane rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.

"Er L? I did only keep him away because I hated his guts. That guy was a rotten drunk and a lazy bum before he even skipped town. I wasn't gonna let an ass like that back in not when everything was starting to go right for us again."

"But everything wasn't alright! Mum was still sick and you were busy trying to look after her while going to school and keeping her illness secret from the rest of us. Somehow I hardly think that counts as normal."

Shane sighed and leaned his head back against the wall.

"It wasn't as hard as you make it out to be you know. After that one fainting spell in the playground nothing much changed until the couple of years before she died. Every once in a while she would forget things, fall asleep at work, get breathless. All I had to do was make sure that she took her meds every day-like we do with you. It was when they stopped working that things started getting messy."

"Tell me what happened after you left." Layla asked quickly, desperate to change the subject before Shane asked her anything about her illness.

Although she knew she would have to tell him at some point she couldn't bare to do so at the moment, not when she was finally learning the truth. She knew that when she told him how sick she was she would have to tell him everything and that would push him over the edge. She'd never find out what happened and Shane would just spiral out of control and she didn't want that-not until she knew how to handle it.

Shane seemed to notice how desperate his sister wanted to move on and became curious, shooting her a look, but like before, went along with it knowing pushing her would only make things worse.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Layla heard the hesitation in his voice and felt a little guilty for pushing him into it but nodded anyway.

"We have to tell the truth Shane-it's the only way we're gonna sort through this mess. No more secrets, no more lying-starting now."

He sighed in defeat as he turned his face away from her and stared up at the ceiling again, finding it easier to focus on that than the pleading expression on Layla's face.

* * *

"After I left things were pretty normal for a while. Got up in the morning, had breakfast, packed all my stuff up and went on tour...you know the usual."

He grinned weakly at her and she smiled back encouragingly, knowing that the only way he could get through it was to make light of the situation but both of them knew it was so much more serious than that.

"So about a week into it we were at this diner off the highway, the guys had gone to get something to eat and I'd decided to use the opportunity to write something. I couldn't wait actually. An empty bus all to myself, no annoying little squirts asking me to play dress up-OW!"

Layla punched him hard in the shoulder glaring at him in annoyance, glad that the awkward atmosphere had disappeared finally.

"Hey I never played dress up!" She huffed her arms folded defiantly over her chest as she pouted at him, before a sly smile spread across her face. "If I remember correctly it was you who liked-"

"_MOVING ON_." Shane said pointedly wanting to move swiftly off the topic as he could.

Sure the others weren't around but they had their sources (God only knows how) and the last thing he wanted was to walk into the cabins and have everyone know about his dressing up days. Not even Nate and Jason knew about that and he intended to keep it that way.

"I was on the bus trying to write something, anything and I couldn't, I physically couldn't. It was like having the most intense writers block you could ever think of and after days and days of nothing but staring at a blank sheet of paper unable to think of anything I was starting to go crazy.

It was Nate that finally made me realise why. He was on the phone to you one night and I just saw him doodling on a piece of paper-like he always did when he was on the phone-except I hadn't seen him do it ages, only when he talked to you.

That's when it clicked. There's just something about you, with you there things just work better, we work better...."

"And that's when you realised you had made a mistake leaving me behind?" He nodded sadly.

"I completely freaked out. Stormed off the bus and just spent hours walking around telling myself over and over how stupid I was and what a huge mistake I had made. It took everything in me not to race back grab the phone of Nate and tell you we were driving back to get you."

Layla's face contorted in confusion. "Wait...if you wanted me back so bad why didn't you just do it? Your first tour only started a couple of weeks after you left so what..it would've been a month at the most we would've been apart? That's not that long."

"Exactly, it wasn't that long at all and no matter how much I may have regretted what I had done from my point of view I was the one being selfish by going back."

She stared at him incredulously unable to believe what he was saying.

"You thought you were being selfish because you wanted to come back?"

He nodded bashfully and she sighed as she leaned over and gave him a one armed hug.

"Oh Shane! You must have known that if you'd come back I would've been happy!"

"It's not a matter of if you would have just been happy it was a matter of if you were gonna be safe. Don't look so shocked you know what I mean."

He added when he saw the look of shock on her face.

"God knows I would never intentionally hurt you but you saw how I acted after mum died, I was falling apart before I even made the decision to sign the contract and put you into care. All I could think about every time I thought about coming back was the look on your face the day I smashed up the front room. You looked so scared and I hated the fact that I caused that. I still do.

You're my strong baby sister, sticking up for me even through I was supposed to look after you and it was because of me that you were too scared to sleep in the same flat as me. It took me and Sandy a week to convince you to come back and even the first night back you dragged Nate in to stay with you.

I couldn't put you through that again Layla and more selfishly I couldn't do that to myself either."

"But you were stressed out Shane I understand that now and it was a long time ago. Mum had just died we were all a mess, you didn't have to beat yourself up about it all this time."

Shane stiffened up again and she sighed out of sadness and sympathy for her brother.

"Shane you big doofus! Out of all the things you could have chose to obsess over why that!?"

"Because I hurt you okay!" He snapped angrily shrugging her arm off him as he covered his face with his hands.

"Maybe not physically but emotionally. I could see it in your eyes-what I did changed you. It changed me as well. I knew the next time when the littlest thing set me off it would be you I was hitting not the wall. A month, wouldn't- couldn't -change that."

"So that's why you went off the rails? You knew you made a mistake leaving me behind but thought it would be a bigger mistake if you came back so you decided the best thing to do was mess your own life up?"

He nodded sadly and she groaned in frustration as she ran her hands through her hair.

"God Shane can't you see how wrong that is! No matter how bad things may get you shouldn't have screwed your life up like that! You left so that you wouldn't make a huge mistake and all you did was create an even bigger mess!"

"I was just so confused Layla you've got to understand that!" Shane pleaded with her to listen to him as she wriggled away from him and started to furiously pace the length of the studio.

"We'd finally made it big and people were going crazy for us telling us how happy we were and for a while I believed them. I believed that I was happy having the fame and the money and most of all people were loved us!

But then things changed. The label decided that we would become more popular if we played the stuff they wanted and not our own and we agreed because we thought that's what made us happy but we were wrong Layla...so wrong. All of a sudden we were playing stuff we would've never dreamed of before and everything was spiralling out of control! I was writing songs about bunnies and lollipops for God's sake!

All I wanted to do was to be me and to be happy about it but I couldn't do that without you playing that..that..._crap_... and I couldn't trust myself not to get you back again without hurting you.

So yeah I went a little crazy, not a lot. A few parties got out of hand once or twice that was it.

Until I turned 18 and everything hit me all at once. The fame, the money, the feeling of being trapped by everything from our music to the fact that I was too out of control to even consider bringing you back. That's when things started going crazy. The day after I told the guys to stop keeping in contact with you I went out and got drunk. Ended up getting arrested after I crashed my car into a tree.

After that Jase would get phone calls in the middle of the night asking him to bail me out. For a couple of months it reached as high as 3 maybe 4 times a week for something or other. It got to a point where the police departments would be warned before we showed up to expect trouble.

One place they hadn't had a crime reported in 20 years. By the time we left I'd more than made up for that. My bail alone those couple of weeks probably paid that policeman's wages for the whole year, poor sod. He hadn't had to do much in 20 years. He was run ragged by the time I left the amount of shit I caused while we were there.

It was worse when we were in countries where the drinking age were lower. Those were the ones where the label would try and get us in and out quick enough that I didn't have enough time to find the local bar.

It was easier to keep tabs on how much I was drinking when I had to nick it from the hotel or the tour bus-slightly trickier when they had to pinpoint what pub or club I was at first."

Layla snorted as she tried to stop herself from laughing, breaking Shane's concentration as he turned to look at her.

"Hey! This isn't supposed to be funny you know!"

She tried to be serious but the offended look on his face only made her laugh harder.

"Oh I know it's just Nate was saying earlier how similar we are and I didn't believe him. I'm starting to believe him now."

Shane looked at her suspiciously before pointing a finger at her accusingly.

"We are going to be talking about this later." He said seriously.

Layla's smile faltered and she gulped loudly knowing that there was no way in hell Shane was going to let that go any time soon.

She groaned knowing that when this was done and Shane added together all her punishments after all the shit she'd done the last couple of weeks she would be lucky if she was allowed out of the house without supervision until she was fifty!

"How long am I gonna be grounded for by the time this is finished?"

This time Shane started to laugh.

"Please Layla you're my kid sister I think I could come up with better ways of torturing you than grounding you. Plus you're 17, sneaky and have a habit of stealing other people's cars. The only way I would be able to keep you in one place is if I chained you up somewhere and I'm pretty sure that's illegal."

He caught his sister's smirk and shuddered.

"Do I want to know what that loo was about?"

"Probably not." She shot back still smirking as he shuddered again.

"Can we get back on track here?" Shane asked, desperate to move on before he thought a little to much about his kid sister's reaction to the thought of being tied up vouluntarily.

* * *

The smirk disappeared and Layla's face suddenly turned serious as she turned to face her brother.

"What happened that day at the video shoot? I mean I know the guys we talking about me and you freaked out but why?"

Shane shrugged.

"I dunno. To be honest I was storming on and off sets for ages before then but this time. ..It was different.

Maybe because it was about you, maybe because after 2 years of doing as much as possible to screw my life up I'd had enough, I don't know.

All I know is that when I walked into that dressing room and heard Nate and Jason talking about you like nothing had happened I couldn't handle it any more. I mean here I was doing anything and everything to forget you, to forget what I had done and they were sitting there talking like it was the easiest thing in the world. I hated that!

You have no idea how trapped and angry I felt being away from you, away from everything I knew, playing music I hated and behaving like a complete _jackass_.

It was like living in my own personal hell, day in, day out and I think after that I just snapped. I had finally had enough."

"So the guys sent you here, you met Mitchie fell in love and lived happily ever after am I right?" Layla added cynically.

She had never been one for the "happily ever after" thing even as a kid.

"Not quite as easy as that..but yes." The room was quiet again for a heartbeat as Layla thought about this before she started another round of questions.

"What do you mean by _"not quite as easy as that"_? You and Mitchie are made for each other. How could it not be easy to be happy with her?"

Shane sighed and leaned back against the wall, letting his head fall back as he looked up at the ceiling trying to think of a way of telling his sister what happened after he met Mitchie.

"I was-_am_-happy with her. It's just that...things aren't as simple as they seem. It took a lot of hard work and understanding for me and Mitch to get to where we are today"

"How? I mean you two look like you've got a good thing going on. How can that not be simple."

"It took a lot of hard work Layla. Believe me. Relationships aren't a simple as they seem they require a lot of hard work. You'll learn that when you're in a proper relationship."

Layla pulled a face at her brother and stuck her tongue out at him.

"What?!"

"Please Shane how old do you think I am?." She scoffed disbelievingly before imitating her brother's voice. " _"You'll learn when you're in a proper relationship"_.

Ha! I'm 17 not 7 Shane. What did you think I was dong the last 7 years? Sitting in my room knitting while preaching the evils of sex from my bedroom window?

"Proper relationship" my butt."

Shane's eyes narrowed.

"Well after the whole tongue poking thing it's hard to believe you've grown up at all let alone that anyone would want to date _you_."

"Oh believe me there's been plenty of people queuing up to date me. At one point I was having to fight them away."

She laughed as she suddenly remembered something.

"You know there was this one guy. Wan-"

"Ah ah!" Shane stopped her before she could say anything more.

"As your brother I do not want to hear about you and your conquests okay? I'm already in enough trouble with the law I do not need to add GBH to a bunch of spotty teenage boys to my record. Plus Mitchie would kick my ass if she ever found out about me going after any of your boyfriends.

"You don't know how true that is." Layla muttered darkly under her breath, deeply shocked by Shane's choice of words.

_If only he knew the truth._

"What was that?" Her head snapped up, stunned at being caught out.

Slowly her face turned red and she nervously began to sweat as she stuttered and faultered over her word which only made him more curious.

"What did you just say Layla. Don't make me ask again."

She gulped nervously.

"Err..I was saying that...I was saying that. Bloody hell look at that! A dodo!"

Shane's head snapped round as he tried to look at the window and Layla made her escape, greatful that although some things may have changed Shane still wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.

Unfortunately he wasn't that dumb either and had cottoned onto her plans, catching her by the collar and yanking her back before she got anywhere near the door.

With a loud thump Layla went crashing to the ground knocking the wind out of her and leaving her unable to run even if she tried.

Shane sitting on her also put an end to that idea and all she could to was sit there and hope that she could get through this without saying the two words she dreaded the most.

"Your turn."

_Damn it!_

* * *

**A/N: So what do you think? :P**

**Song used was (of course) Turn right by the Jonas Brothers! love it XD**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing!!!! :P:P:P:P:P**


	37. Chapter 34

**A/N: Finally got this written woo hoo and it actually uploaded properly. I am so happy! Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed **

**THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!!!!!!**

**LOL hope you like this latest update-i do! :P**

* * *

**Chapter 34**

Layla laughed nervously as she avoided all eye contact with her brother.

"You know what? I think I should wait you know. All this talking well." She let out a fake yawn and stretched her arms above her head .

"It's made me kind of sleepy. I think we should call it a night. I mean after all....I've learned a lot the afternoon and I think that deserves some time to digest you know. To sink in. So if you don't mind..."

She tried to wiggle out from under her brother but the weight advantage plus the years of wrestling with her and the guys had paid off (for Shane anyway) making it virtually impossible for Layla to escape. Eventually she gave up, pouting up at her brother as he smirked down at her, feeling particularly happy at the dejected look on his sister's face. He knew he had won and let out a low chuckle as his sister's glare intensified. She hated losing-especially when it meant her brother got to win.

"It's not even darl yet and you're not going anywhere any time soon if I've got anything to say about it so spill." He grinned back at her smugly as she started to pout.

Layla glared at him a little longer before finally giving in.

"Fine" She snapped moodily, crossing her arms over her chest as best she could with her brother sitting on her torso, almost cutting off all circulation to her legs. "I'll tell you on one condition."

He thought about it for a second before nodding his head slightly. He could give in a little if it meant that he finally found out what happened to his sister to make her who she is today.

"Get the bloody hell off me before I lose all feeling in my legs and die!"

Shane rolled his eyes at her dramatics but got off her, holding out a hand to help her up. She accepted and lifted herself off the ground waiting until she could feel her legs properly and no longer needed Shane's help before smacking him around the back of the head.

"You stupid idiot! Didn't anyone teach you not to sit on girls like that?! You could've killed me you big lump!"

"Hey you weren't complaining when we were younger."

"That's because you always let me win! And you were about 2 stone lighter."

"Wish I could say the same thing for you." Shane shot back.

Layla gasped and stepped back from him, putting a slightly shaking hand to her mouth as her eyes narrowed in anger. There was certain things you didn't bring up about the past and that was one of them. This time Shane had crossed a line, a very well pointed out line and Layla wasn't going to take it lying down.

"You did _not _just call me fat!"

Shane rolled his eyes again but had the common sense to move away from his sister who looked like she was ready to rugby tackle him to the ground any second. Unfortunately he didn't have the good sense to keep his mouth shut and before he had a chance to read the signs and stop himself the words had come tumbling out of his mouth.

"Oh my God Layla you were 10, you still had all your puppy fat for God's sake! It was 7 years ago, get over it already!"

She looked at him, her mouth open in horror for a fraction of a second before she let out an ear piercing shriek of fury.

"Wrong thing to say huh?" Shane muttered anxiously finally realising that he'd overstepped the line and made a huge mistake as Layla continued to glare at him in the same way a wild animal would before the attack.

"You think?!" She hissed out through gritted teeth, her hands clenched by her sides as she did everything in her power to stop herself from launching herself at her brother and rip him to shreds. "God Shane you're such an ass!"

"OK OK." I'm sorry." Shane relented not wishing to push her any further in case she went completely of the edge and he lost his opportunity to finally learn the truth. "I was out of line and I apologise. Can we move on now?"

She continued to glare at him with hate filled eyes for a couple of more seconds before he gaze softened slightly; her top lip curled up in distaste.

"If that's your way of apologising than it really sucks." She snapped causing Shane to laugh. He wasn't totally forgiven but at least she didn't look like she was going to strangle him with her bare hands any time soon.

"Well what can I say?! Apologies aren't easy in our family."

Layla smiled a little and her face softened. She was starting to realise now that although Shane was an idiot he didn't know he was being an idiot therefore it wasn't really his fault.

"So.." Shane drawled casually as he leaned against the wall next to her as she watched him carefully, amused that he seemed to think it was safe to be within grabbing distance of her after her little show. "You gonna tell me what happened or am I gonna have to sit on you again?"

She rolled her eyes at him and slapped him around the back of the head causing him to yelp.

Layla laughed.

"You big baby." She smiled at him for a moment before her face turned serious. "Are you sure you want to know Shane. Once you find out you can never go back. The old Layla you knew before will be gone forever you know that right?"

Shane gulped, finally feeling the seriousness of the situation as he nodded his head gravely. He always knew that he would eventually have to stop seeing his sister as the little girl he left behind but he never thought it would be easy and Layla's words only made the process seem more difficult and painful for everyone.

"I understand. But it can't be that bad right?I mean sure you got sick at some point and things were a little crazy without me there to keep you out of trouble but it can't be that bad...can it?"

Layla's expression worsened and Shane suddenly felt a sinking feeling in his stomach telling him that the worst was yet to come.

"It is bad isn't it." He whispered, groaning slightly when Layla nodded her head slightly in conformation.

He groaned and Layla instantly felt bad knowing that what she was about to say would be hard for him to hear as well as for her to say. A part of her wanted to back out but she knew that if she didn't tell him now she never would and Shane deserved to know the truth. Like she had said before it was the only way they could survive.

No more secrets. Now she just had to keep up her end of the deal.

* * *

"If I tell you what happened you can't interrupt. This is going to be as difficult for me as it is for you and if you keep interrupting I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it. God-It was hard enough telling Jason and Danny I have no idea how I'm going to be able to tell you."

"Wait." Shane cut her off before she could continue again. "Jase and Danny know?!"

Layla nodded slightly and Shane cursed under his breath at the thought of his best friend keeping a secret from him. If it was under different circumstances he would have been happy that he'd finally mastered the gift of keeping secrets but at that moment he wanted to throttle Jason for keeping important information about his sister away from him.

"I only told them what they needed to know to keep me safe." Layla added snapping Shane out of his various thoughts of violence towards his friend.

He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant by keeping her safe but she cut him off before he'd even said a word.

"You'll understand when I'm finished but for now just listen. I don't want you doing anything stupid without knowing all the facts first. You've always acted first and thought about it second but that's just not going to work this time."

Shane opened his mouth to speak but before he had the chance she cut him off again.

"It doesn't matter what you say Shane I'm not going to change my mind. What I tell you is gonna change everything and whatever happens you have to promise not to fly off into one of your tantrums. Swear to me Shane."

He was about to when she cut him off again.

"God what was I thinking?! Of course you wouldn't agree to that! You always act without thinking and get yourself into trouble that's who you are. Asking you not to act like an ass is like asking Jason to stop liking birds, or Nate-"

"Jesus Layla would you shut up for a minute and actually let me talk!" He snapped finally cutting her off mid rant. "If it makes you happy I promise not to lose my temper."

She eyed him for a minute before sticking out her little finger.

"Pinky swear." She said seriously, her glare intensifying as Shane scoffed in disbelief.

"Come on Layla! Your-"

"PINKY SWEAR!"

"Fine Fine!" He agreed quickly hooking his finger around hers.

Whatever makes you happy Shane thought as she finally smiled at him before sitting down cross legged on the floor in front of him. She stared up at him expectantly for a couple of seconds before he finally realised that she wanted him to sit down opposite him.

"Oh you want-"

She rolled her eyes.

"No Shane I wanted to stare up adoringly at you as I spilled my guts out." She cut him off sarcastically before yanking him down to the ground to sit opposite her. "Of course I want you to sit down you big idiot! God sometimes I wonder how anyone puts up with you."

"I could say the same thing about you." Shane muttered under his breath but obviously not quietly enough as Layla swiftly clipped him around the back of the head. "Damn L! Do you always have to be so aggressive?!"

"Yes."

Shane rolled his eyes and she slapped him again, a fierce scowl fixed across her face.

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" She snapped, quickly becoming irritated by her moronic brother.

"Sure go ahead I've got nothing else to do."

She glared fiercely at him and made a move to get up and leave but he pulled her back by her sleeve causing her to fall back into him before she even moved a couple of inches away.

"Okay Okay I'm sorry. Tell me. I want to know."

"My ass! You just want to piss me off even more!"

"No I mean it." He said seriously, hoping that she could tell by his voice and his expression how much he meant it. "You said that the only way we could move on was if there was no more secrets and I told you mine so now I want you to tell me yours. Time to move on?"

She looked at him cautiously for a second before giving in. Her face softened slightly and she moved away to sit facing him like she was before.

"Time to move on." She said softly before taking a deep calming breath. "So? What do you want to know?"

Shane thought for a second before finally answering.

"Everything. I want to know everything."

"That's a lot of stuff Shane I'm not sure if-"

"We've got time. Just start from the beginning."

She took another deep breath.

_From the beginning_ she thought._ I can do that._

* * *

"Well I guess it started about a year after you left. I was doing pretty well at Sunflower House. Not amazing cos well my mum just died, my only family had gone off somewhere I didn't know and I was in care but apart from that things were good. I was doing good in school, kept up all my dance classes and recitals all that kind of stuff.

I didn't have many friends because I thought you were gonna come back so I didn't see the point and with my obsessive cleaning habits not many people at the home liked me either. That changed though when Ryan and Nova turned up. Nova was as much a clean freak as me so we were put together and hit it off straight away-Ryan was just an added bonus. He was used to having a clean freak for a sister and he just adopted me as another one."

Layla was lost in her thoughts for a moment before Shane snapped his fingers in front of her face bringing her back from her memories. She shook her head to try and clear them away.

"Sorry. Anyway about a year after you left I started getting really excited. I mean I thought you were coming back for me soon and I'd get to go on tour with you like we'd always talked about whenever you or the guys called.

One day I got careless and blurted out that you were my brother and that you were coming home while someone was listening and the next thing I knew everyone wanted to be my best friend.

On your birthday when you didn't show up I was crushed. Everyone started calling me a liar and suddenly all the friends I had made had become my enemies. It was one of the worst days of my life but that was nothing compared to what happened afterwards-"

"Why what happened?" Shane didn't realise that he had spoken out loud until Layla suddenly stopped talking and glared at him coldly, her mouth set in a straight line, her expression serious.

It took him a second or two but he finally realised what happened and his eyes went wide as he saw her moving away towards the door, taking his one and only chance of finding the truth about her life while they were apart with her.

"Oh God Layla I am so sorry! I totally forgot about the whole "no interrupting" rule. I swear I didn't..."

"No no." She waved him off absent mindedly as she moved closer to him again. " I should've known that you would have questions. It was silly of me really to think that you wouldn't."

They sat in silence for a moment before Layla finally answered.

"I lost hope. After months of waiting for you to show up I lost hope in you ever coming back and I started listening to the things everyone was saying."

"Like what?"

She shrugged her shoulders a little, trying to look like she wasn't bothered or that she couldn't remember but Shane could tell from the way she tensed up that she remembered every word and that it hadn't been good.

"What did they say to you Layla?"

"They said that you would never come back" She mumbled her eyes leaving his face and darting down to look at the ground, not wanting him to see how badly it had affected her.

"they said that you didn't want me any more and that was why you left. They said that you hated me. I told them they were wrong but..."

"But when I didn't turn up you started to believe them." She nodded a little and he moaned, closing his eyes in pain as he felt like he was going to be sick from the guilt.

"I'm so sorry La La." He whispered painfully in an attempt to relieve the feeling in his chest but it remained, like a constant reminder of what he had done, weighing on his conscience. "I am so so sorry."

She shrugged her shoulders again, playing with the bottom of her jeans as she continued to keep her eyes on the ground, ignoring the tears that were filling her eyes as she tried to push them away.

"It doesn't matter now." She sniffed trying to keep the sadness out of her voice. She didn't want Shane to feel any worse than he already did-she had caused him enough pain the last couple of weeks and she knew there was still more to come. "They would've all turned against me anyway without knowing about you."

"How? I mean you were only 11. How could you have done anything bad enough to make everyone hate you?"

"I got sick." She said simply and Shane's mouth fell open in shock.

"You got sick so they got mad at you?" She nodded slowly and Shane felt his temper rising. "How could anyone get mad at you for being sick?! It's not like you could've helped it!"

"It wasn't like that Shane they weren't mad it's just..." She sighed, trying to think of how she could make him understand. "I never really fitted in even before you left. I'd always been the little kid who had a thing for keeping things clean and that was just weird to them. I mean what kind of kid doesn't want to get messy and go out playing in the mud...to have fun and not care if they created a mess."

"But you've always had a thing about germs! Ever since that time that mum got sick and the doctors said it was because of the germs you've cleaned everything in sight!"

"Yeah but they didn't know that they just thought I was a freak. When I started fainting and vomiting all the time then freaking out because of the germs they just thought I was an even bigger freak."

"They didn't think anything was wrong they just thought you were a freak so decided to pick on you?"

She nodded sadly.

"That's just so wrong how can anyone behave like that?!"

"They were kids faced with something they didn't understand. It may not have been right what they had done but can you tell me when you were that age there wasn't someone that everyone picked on because they didn't fit in?"

Shane's anger died down a little as he thought back to when he was that age and they used to pick on a boy in his class and he realised she was right.

The boy actually had OCD but they hadn't known it at the time and everyone just saw his need to keep everything clean and washing his hands every couple of minutes as weird and ridiculed him for it.

It wasn't until Layla started showing milder symptoms of the same condition when she was 7 that he realised what was going on but by late it was too late and the damage had been done.

"You're right there was and I feel bad about that but it doesn't mean what they did was right. You shouldn't be defending them!"

"I'm not defending them I'm just pointing out that I can see why." She stated calmly. "What they did was crewel, mean, and spiteful. I hated them for it but I can't spend my whole life hating them for something they did when we were 11. I have to move on with my life and live it to the fullest as much as I can with the time that I've got."

With that Shane's thoughts instantly switched to the other topic they were talking about. A million and one questions suddenly flooded his brain all dying to be answered but one stuck out the most.

"How bad was-_is_- it?"

"Bad enough. I was in and out of hospital for a couple of months until they worked out what was happening. Then it was regular hospital trips as they tried to work out how to treat me. Some worked straight away some didn't. It was a lot of messing around but eventually they got there.

Now I just have to make sure I take my meds, don't do anything to strenuous and go get checked out every couple of months. Not the best thing in the world but it could be worse."

"How long?" He whispered and her face creased in confusion before finally understanding.

"How long have I been sick?"

He shook his head and she became confused again before finally working out what he meant and her face softened. She reached over and patted his arm sympathetically before answering. He didn't want to know how long she'd been sick for...he wanted to know how long it was until she died. How long he had left until he had to watch his baby sister waste away like his mother had. How long until he had to say goodbye to her again forever.

"15-20 years at the most."

He took a deep painful intake of breath and she sighed. Layla hated seeing her brother like this.

"But it could change." She added hopefully in an attempt to make Shane feel better if even for a fraction of a second. Deep down she knew if there would be any change it would be for the worse but she couldn't bare to see her brother looking so desolate. "I have my next check up in a couple of months and they'll be able to tell if any thing's changed. I'll know more then."

Shane smiled at her weakly knowing that there was no chance of her getting better due to the degenerative process of her illness but was grateful that she tried to save him from the pain even if it was only for a second or two.

Almost as quickly as he smile appeared it was gone as the seriousness of the situation finally hit him. Shane felt the tears coming to his eyes and his chest constricting in pain and suddenly he felt the need to break down, to cry and scream and curse fate for what was happening to his family and to him but he pushed it aside, bottling it up for later knowing that if he lost it now in front of his sister he wouldn't be able to stop.

He sat there with his eyes closed for a couple of minutes trying to push the thoughts away and pull himself together before taking a deep breath and opening his eyes to look into Layla's worried ones.

* * *

She had expected a reaction from him but not quite one like this. She had expected the crying and screaming the same way she and everyone else had reacted when they found out but when he did nothing ...well that was something she didn't expect.

It was only when she saw the pleading look in his eyes that she realised why.

He was on the edge of breaking down just like she had but he couldn't deal with it right now. He had to focus on something else, anything to stop himself from breaking down in front of her.

He was bottling it up and for the first time she truly understood why Jason and Nate did what they did all those years ago. They saw the signs just like she had now and did what they thought was best for all of them at the time by making him leave. Layla could see now that in order to stop her brother from self destructing she would have to do the same. Maybe not leave but to move on and avoid the subject as much as they could until he could finally accept it without going over the edge.

So when he finally looked at her properly again,the pleading look replaced with one of curiosity and determination as he asked her what happened afterwards, she didn't refuse the change in subject. Both of them knew that as hard as it was for him to hear about her life it was easier than hearing about how she was going to die. At least that was something he could change, that they all could change now that they'd come back...her dying was something they couldn't.

"After a while I got sick of the teasing and taunting on top of actually being sick so I asked Cassie if I could move schools. She saw the toll everything was having on me and agreed." Shane relaxed significantly at the sudden change in subject and shot her a weak but grateful smile.

"I was 12 by the time I moved to Nova's school on the other side of the city where no one would know me or my past. By then you guys had got really popular and people were trying to find out as much about your past as they could-"

"Ah I remember that. You have no idea how freaky it is to wake up in the morning to find Jason reading a magazine with Ms Cope, the lunch ladie's, ugly face stretched across it-and that woman's face is stretched out enough!" He shuddered as he remembered to various articles from their past covering everything from the Carter parent's death to Shane's lunch choices from high school all told by people they barely knew from their past.

She snorted loudly.

" Please! You should try listening to teenage girls gushing in detail about how sexy your brother and best friends are then asking you which one you like the most then you'll know what freaky is. God that was so disgusting! I had nightmares for ages after that!" She shuddered like her brother had done earlier before continuing.

"That's why we made the decision to change my name. We didn't want people to find out who I am by mistake and for the same thing to happen all over again so I registered under Winters instead of Gray."

"And everything was good then. Right?"

"Er...no. Not exactly. After everything we did to make sure I wasn't found by the press we didn't think of factors a little more closer to home. Turns out a girl at my old school was moving house at the same time a month after I moved schools so did she. The day Melody Carpenter showed up I knew I was done for."

The way Layla said her name made her sound like it was some sort of disease and Shane knew that whatever happened between these two wasn't good.

"Melody Carpenter?"

She made a face of disgust at the name, her eyes burning with resentment and anger.

"She was the head bitch at my old school-"

"Head bitch!" Shane interrupted, unable to believe what he was hearing. "You were only 12!"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah cos all the girls you knew when you were 12 were just little darlings weren't they." She said dryly knowing for a fact that there was at least 4 at Shane's school who could give Tess a run for her money at their age even if they were only 12.

Shane had no answer for that and just stared at her his mouth slightly open as he tried to come up with the words to challenge her but found himself falling short every time.

"Do you want to hear what happened or not?" She snapped, finding herself getting annoyed by the amount of times he kept interrupting her. Sure some questions were necessary but other times....

"Sure go ahead."

She stared at him for a second debating whether to or not before continuing.

The second she set her eyes on me she told everyone who I was and what had happened at our old school. In fact I think the first words she said were_ "There's that dirty skank who lied about being Shane Gray's sister!"._ Not the greatest sentence in the world but it did the job.

By the end of the week I was branded the school nut job and a liar. Turns out the whole changing my name thing bit me in the ass more than keeping my original name. The moment she found out she instantly began telling everyone that I had lied about you being my brother in the first place to get attention.

That just made everything worse and by the end of the month everyone even the teachers thought I was an attention seeking liar."

Shane was gob smacked.

"Why the hell would she do that? What could she possibly have gained from it?"

"She was a bitch Shane. She didn't need a reason to hate me only that she found it fun picking on others."

He groaned knowing she was right yet again but it didn't stop him from still feeling angry-not only at the people who picked on her but also for the fact that the people who were supposed to be there to support her had done nothing to stop it.

"So how did it end? Something must have happened your records say you went to 3 different school between 12 and 15 before you finally settled at you current school. Something must have happened to make you leave."

She grimaced slightly and he knew almost instinctively that what she was going to say was going to make him even angrier so tried to think calm thoughts as she started talking again.

* * *

"A week after my 13th birthday I was in gym class and we were running laps. I wasn't supposed to but the teacher wouldn't take no for an answer. I ended up fainting halfway through the class and knocking myself unconscious right in the middle of a packed gym class but no one did nothing."

"What do you mean _nothing_?"

"I mean nothing. Everyone thought I was just doing it for the attention. They didn't think it was a real emergency so they just left me there. It wasn't until a couple of hours later when I didn't meet Nova at lunch that she thought there was something wrong and she came looking for me that they realised it wasn't a joke and called an ambulance."

"What! They just left you there?! "

Shane had never been angrier or more appalled in his entire life!

How could anyone be so crewel as to leave someone for that long without trying to help them?

Even when he was at his worst Shane had never ever done anything like that. The thought of a whole class full of people and teachers all ignoring her while she fainted because of some lies spread around by a stupid little girl made his blood boil.

"How could they do something like that?!"

"Like I said they thought I was just doing it for the attention. Needless to say I wasn't and when I woke up the next day in hospital Cassie was not impressed...actually that's putting it lightly. She looked like she was ready to kill someone. I ended up in hospital for a week because of it and she was furious.

One of the girls in my class thought it would be fun to mess around with my meds and the teachers didn't even think about stopping her. That combined with the stress on my body from the gym class led to me collapsing the way I did.

It took 2 formal apologies and a promise from the girls parents and the school to pay for my medical bills to stop Cassie from pressing charges against them for negligence . If she had had her way she would've had the girl charged with attempted murder too.

By the time I left hospital a couple of days later, the bills had been paid, my room was filled with flowers and get well cards and I had successfully been transferred to a school on the other side of town."

* * *

Shane's anger was subdued slightly, knowing at least in his absence someone had had the guts to stand up for his little sister but he was still furious about what had happened. He was glad that they hadn't got away with it entirely but he was still pissed that Layla ended up in that situation to begin with and he made a mental note to have a long chat with Cassie when all this was over and done with.

"And that's when you became LJ Winters right? The bad girl with a past?"

"I guess so. Not at first of course. The school I moved to was very cliquey and I tried my best to fit in for a while but it wasn't enough just being me. I tried to fit in the way I was but after everything I'd been through I didn't know who I was any more.

I knew that I loved dance but I also loved other sports so I didn't completely fit into the dance crowd or the jocks. I was quite smart and I liked school but it wasn't my entire life so I didn't fit in with the nerds and I didn't not fit in enough to be with those who didn't belong to a group. I was a mixture of everything but not quite enough of each to be accepted by anyone so I moved towards the group that most reflected me and the way that I felt.

I wasn't a complete bad girl but I was close enough. All the taunts and jeers had taught me to be tough and not to take any shit off anyone. At that school that was more than enough to be considered a bad influence so people began labelling me bad the second I walked through the door. What I didn't know the others taught me the rest during my many, _many_ undeserved hours of detention and before I knew it I was a fully fledged "bad girl", whatever that means.

In truth we weren't that bad not compared to others we just did the things that other people were too scared and set in their ways to do. It was only every once in a while that we did something to truly deserve the title of being bad."

Shane scoffed disbelievingly. He'd heard about the kind of stuff she got up to, read the police write ups from when she got arrested and seen her medical records from when she had been at that school. There was no way that kind of behaviour and the mess she got herself into could be seen as _"not that bad"._

"Yeah cos sleeping around with any guy who will have you and getting arrested wasn't bad at all! Christ Layla what type of school were you going to?!You were only 14!"

She rolled her eyes at him.

"God you have lived a sheltered life haven't you?" He glared at her and she sighed, knowing if that was true none of them would've been in this mess to begin with. "Fine okay you're life wasn't exactly peachy when you were my age either but things weren't as bad as you make it sound. Sure we got into trouble a lot but it wasn't like that. Not everyone was at it like bunnies if that's what you were thinking but yeah...."

She trailed off as she looked down at the ground before turning again to look at him.

"Look I'm not proud of what I did and if I could I would go back and stop myself from doing all the stuff that I did I would. But I can't okay so can we just move on already!"

"No Layla we can't _"move on already!"_" He snapped back annoyed by her vagueness and flippancy about her past. "This is a huge part of your life, it made you into who you are now and I need to know why you did it. More than just you felt like it at the time and now you're sorry. I told you everything no matter how painful I found it because you said honesty was the only way for us to move on and you're not being honest with me Layla I can tell. So no Layla we can't just_ "move on"._ Not until I get some answers."

She huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms over her chest pouting slightly as she realised she wouldn't be getting away with this as easily as she thought.

* * *

Shane took a deep breath to calm himself down before continuing.

"Now I understand that you had a rough time growing up and that can be difficult especially at a young age. I could see how that would have a damaging effect on you in later life,I understand that, but why did you do it? I can understand not being able to fit in and not knowing who you are, believe me I've been there, but why would you become something you clearly aren't?

There are a hundred different things you could have been Layla! Why did you decide to become the bad girl who slept around? If you wanted to stop putting up with shit from people why did you do it? Surely you got in more trouble when everyone found out what you were doing than people just simply thinking that you were lying about me?"

She shrugged nonchalantly. Just because he wanted answers didn't mean she had to give them to him.

"I didn't mean to." She muttered quietly after a while, finally breaking down and giving in when Shane resorted to giving her the look.

"Not to begin with anyway. It was kind of an accident really."

"An accident?"

Layla nodded and sighed as she saw the disbelieving look on his face before starting to explain.

"I went to this party once with Nova, Ryan and his mates- I didn't really want to go but Nova's boyfriend was gonna be there because it was his brother's party and she wanted me to meet him so I agreed. I thought it would be interesting-something to tell my friends back in detention about you know, going to my first high school party and everything. Turns out Ryan and his friend's idea of a party was to play ping pong and talking about some girl they wanted but could never get.

Great for them but boring for me especially as Nova spent most of the night with her tongue down her boyfriend Max's throat rather than talking to me. So I did something about it."

Shane eyed her cautiously. Layla was well known for getting an idea and acting on it without thinking and when she did it always bit someone on the ass. Usually it was Shane or one of the guys but as they weren't there Shane couldn't help but feel nervous about what mess his sister had created in his absence.

"What did you do Layla?"

"Nothing much. At least I didn't think it was anyway."

"What did you do." Shane asked slowly dreading the answer.

"Well I sort of messaged a load of people I knew from my friends at school. Quite a few of them had been held back a couple of years so had a load of friends in high school. They told their friends, who told their friends and the next thing I knew there were loads of high school students and even some from college crashing the place dragging a load of booze with them."

"Layla! How could you do that?! Not only was it not your party but it wasn't even your house! You didn't know half those people they could've been anyone! What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Oh shush!" She snapped at him. " The way you're behaving you make it sound like I invited a load of axe murders around for tea and biscuits! And like you were any better! God Shane sometimes you can be so annoying!

Everyone knows you threw that huge party on the roof that time and completely trashed the place. The only reason Mum didn't slap you black and blue was because she was pissed that Miss Godfrey came around and commented on her parenting skills because _"someone"_ had destroyed her roof garden."

Shane had the good grace to blush slightly and look down at the ground in shame as he realised he'd been caught ou yet again.

"Exactly." She said smugly, glad that she had proved her point before finally conceding. "But you're right it was stupid. Which is exactly what Ryan told me when he found out it was me who sent out the invite. He was furious. I'd never seen him that mad before. He was screaming and yelling at me, telling me how stupid and reckless I had been to do what I did.

Then he did something stupid. You see if he had just left it at that I would have stopped but then he said that if you were there you would be disappointed in me and that it was a good thing you were gone because if you had to put up with me all the time you would've left already. He didn't mean it in a bad way or anything he was just frustrated but it was like a red rag to a bull.

By this time I was pissed off with you enough to think anything that would get on your nerves would be a good thing so I stormed off, found the guys I sent the original invites too and left to find some other party.

I can't really remember what happened after that but there was booze and dancing and some guy called Greg who liked feet but after that every thing's a little hazy. I woke up the next day in someone else's bed with no idea how I got there and no clothes on. I ended crashing at a friend of Max's brother and he called Ryan and told him I was there. By the time I found my clothes and made it down the stairs without killing myself he was there waiting for me and he wasn't happy.

When Ryan found what happened out he went absolutely ballistic...started screaming and yelling at me, telling me how stupid I had been to leave with a bunch of guys I barely knew and doing what I did when I wasn't even 15 yet. The way he blew up at me..well it reminded me of you.

He was the closest thing I had to a brother and a best friend with you guys gone and I figured if what I was doing was pissing him off then maybe if you knew you'd react the same way.

A couple of weeks later things had died down and I was back at school when this blonde bitch came out of no where and started screaming at me, pulling my hair and yelling at me that I was a home wrecking slut. I didn't know at the time but the guy I slept with was her boyfriend and she had found out what happened at the party so they broke up.

Just like that I had created a new identify for myself. Not the best one in the world but it was mine and I lived up to it the best I could."

Shane stared at her like she had grown three heads and started speaking another language.

"Are you crazy?! Someone calls you a slut so you _become_ one?! What would happen if someone called you a chicken would you have spent the rest of your life dressed in feathers running around clucking and laying eggs?! Just because someone labels you something doesn't mean that's who you are!"

"Says the guy who turned into Mr Cocky pop star because people told him to!"

"That's different." He snapped back defensively.

"Why because people told you that what you were doing was right? Because that was what to be expected of being a celebrity? What we may have done in the past may have been poles apart but don't _ever_ think the intention behind them were different!

We both changed to forget our past, to feel better about ourselves and ended up finding out that the only one who suffered was us. You may have not done the same things as me but don't tell me what I did was wrong when you were doing the exact same thing!"

"So that's it then." Shane asked darkly, "Someone tells you you're a slut and you agree you don't right back...you just go along with it? I thought you had more backbone than that Layla. Letting someone tell you who you are and just putting up with it, I thought you were stronger than that."

She snorted in disgust causing him to glare at her with a mixture of anger and frustration.

"What? You think some prissy little blonde bitch slapping me because I slept with her boyfriend would be enough? No that was just the beginning. The rest...well that was my decision."

"What do you mean? I thought you said it was the girl."

She rolled her eyes.

"Shane if you weren't surrounded by people telling you how great you were and how happy you'd be if you did what the label wanted would you have turned into the jerk you were before?"

He stayed silent, knowing she was right.

"Thought not. You would've stayed the same or at least wouldn't have been as bad as you were. Well the same thing happened to me.

After that everyone assumed that I was an easy lay, the girl everyone got off with whenever they felt like it and I got invited to a lot of parties because of it. Not just people my age but people older, a lot older, then me were suddenly inviting me to their parties because people heard of my reputation before they even saw me.

Suddenly I had an identity, something to be after years of not knowing who I was, and I was happy...or at least I thought I was at the time. I can see now that I wasn't really happiness but it took me a while to figure it out."

"What about Cassie and the others? Didn't they try and stop you?"

"Ryan and Nova did. It worked for a while as well until I got bored. There's only so many times I can stay in and watch tv in my fuzzy slippers and PJ's without going insane.

After a while I found ways of sneaking out without Ryan or Nova finding out but Ryan being the smart ass he is soon found out. We had this huge argument about it but I wouldn't back down-so we compromised. He would come with me, keep an eye on me as much as he could so that I wouldn't get into too much trouble but it didn't always work.

One time we got separated and I ended up with some guy-Pete his name was-and one thing led to another....

After that Pete got very..._attached_, kept inviting me to his parties and getting me drunk so that he could....Well Pete was in to some crazy stuff and pretty soon he got me involved too. It went on for a couple of months until Ryan found out and put an end to it.

Turns out Pete thought I was a lot older than I really was and he wasn't keen on using 15 year olds for his little sex games. The second he found out how old I was he cut off all ties with me but by then the damage had already been done. I'd seen and done things no one my age should've known about and nothing could ever take that back.

A couple of weeks after the whole Pete thing some guy came up to me and asked me if I wanted to go to a party with a couple of his mates. Ryan told me no, said this guy was serious trouble-a completely different league from Pete. He even went as far to say if I went he would report me to Cassie, possibly get me sent somewhere else, somewhere where I wouldn't be able to do the things I was doing and you would never be able to find me.

Of course me being in the screwed up frame of mind I was I saw that as a challenge and completely ignored him. I sneaked out when Nova and Ryan weren't looking and went to that party. It was stupid really-he was only looking out for me like any good friend and brother would but I didn't listen to him. I wish I had now.

They got me hyped up on so much drugs and booze that I couldn't think or even see straight. That was the first time I got arrested. Ended up getting myself a DUI and ending up in A and E after crashing Cassie's car into a telephone pole. Once they found out it was her car and that she was my legal guardian they called her and she finally found out what was going on. After that things started to get ugly."

* * *

"That's when she put an end to it right?" Shane insisted hopefully, not quite sure if he could handle any more.

Layla pulled a face and he groaned as he realised he was wrong.

"No it took a little bit more than that to finally push her over the edge. You remember that time with the three guys in one day?" Shane nodded slightly wincing as he remembered reading about it in his sister's records a couple of days ago.

"Well that was it. Turns out the she and the school board weren't too keen on me using the principals' office for my little..._extra curricular activities_. They especially didn't like the fact that his son accidentally turned on the PA system halfway through and it was broadcasted throughout the entire main school building."

"LAYLA!"

"What?!" She said innocently trying her best to avoid Shane's glance. "How was I supposed to know that would happen?!"

"You're supposed to be smart enough to know not to have sex before your old enough and especially not in the principals' office with his son. What were you thinking?!"

"Obviously I was thinking it would be kinda fun to get it on with him and his mates in his dad's office." She saw Shane's glare and rolled her eyes at him. "God I don't know what you're getting so uptight about. You weren't exactly preaching the points of abstinence when you were my age."

"No but at least I waited until I was over 18 first!" He snapped back. "Sure me and the guys might not have been as pure as snow but we never did anything really bad and having sex while under the legal age is definitely isn't the right thing to do."

"Depends on who you do it with." She shot back snappily. Arguing over the fine points of under-age sex wasn't exactly how she expected this to go but she was too stubborn and annoyed with her brother to admit defeat.

"Depends on-" Shane stared at her open mouthed is disbelief before shaking his head. "You know what I'm too young to die of a heart attack and to pretty to survive in prison for slapping some sense into you so it's probably best if we move on."

"Fine." She snapped back, muttering something involving her brother, his butt and the fact he had a stick stuck up it before moving on. "After that Cassie put me on my last warning. I either changed or she would send me some place where you would never find me. When Ryan told me that I laughed it off but I could tell Cassie was serious so I tried.

I had already been transferred to a new school so it was a little easier but it was still hard. I had lived in that world for so long that it was like second nature to me. Every once in a while I would slip up, go to a party, get drunk, crash my car into a tree.... but I was trying and at the end of the day that's what counts right?

Cassie could tell so she let it slide but this one time I really thought I'd pushed it too far. Even I wasn't expecting her to let me get away with it like usual."

"What happened?"

"I got caught messing around with a guy in the gym by another student and they reported me to the principal. This school was a little more lax than the other one but I had still broken a load of rules and school codes so they called Cassie in. I thought I was done for then but it turned out to be one of the best and worst moments of my life."

"How?" Shane was confused. " I mean Cassie said that if you got caught she'd send you away how could that ever be good?"

"Because I found out that the guy had a girlfriend and that he had used me to cheat on her. He had heard about my past from a friend who used to go to my old school and used me for his own gain."

"What could he possibly gain from that?!"

"I don't know, getting the upper hand maybe. He was a bit of a bastard and she had been threatening to dump him for ages maybe he decided to stick it to her before she got the chance. Make sure he was the one who ended it on his terms not hers... I don't know. Look you're the guy you try and figure it out!

All I do know is that when I found out that he had a girlfriend I felt sick. I kept getting flashbacks of the last time I slept with someone who had a girlfriend and I didn't want the same thing to happen to me again so when she walked up to me the next day I was determined to do whatever it took to make it up to her.

Turns out I didn't have to do much. Sure she was annoyed that he had ended it first and had slept with the new girl but he had been thrown out for his actions and she never had to see him again. I effectively ended her relationship for her and as a sort of thank you she decided to help me. We soon became friends and with her and her brother's help and everyone's support I found it harder and harder to slip up until eventually I became the person I had always wanted to be.

It's not quite who I am now but I was the happiest I'd been in years and it was all thanks to one stupid mistake I made when I was 15. It my have been one of the biggest mistakes of my life but if I hadn't made it and all the others before it I wouldn't be the person I am today."

* * *

By the time she had finished there was a small smile playing on her lips and Shane couldn't help but smile back.

Of course he was beyond angry, confused and everything in between about what she had just told him but he couldn't help but feel happy that she had changed her ways. Sure it wasn't the best way of getting to where she was now but she was here and she was happy and for now he could deal with that, everything else could wait until later when he'd processed things enough to work out what to do about it.

"Wait."He said, a thought suddenly hitting him. "You said that you were at your happiest then but not now. What changed?"

"It wasn't you coming back if that's what you thought." She said when she saw the look on his face and realised what he was thinking.

"In fact you coming back has made me the happiest I've been in a long time. No matter how much I may bitch and scream at you guys I love all of you too much to ever imagine my life without any of you any more."

"Then what changed? If you were happy before I came back and your happy now we're together again what happened in between to change that?"

Layla thought seriously for a couple of minutes trying to think about the best way to go about telling him before finally answering him.

"You remember how I told you earlier that you if I had left you wouldn't have been the first important thing I'd walked away from?"

He nodded.

"Well that _"important thing"_ was my friends brother. We were dating for a long time and next to you and the guys he became the most important thing in my life. I loved him."

"But you walked away? Why?"

She frowned slightly her gaze falling to the ground as she worried a stray thread on the friendship bracelet Jason had made her.

"We..we weren't good for each other."

Shane picked up on the hesitation in her voice and questioned it straight away.

"You weren't good for each other or he just wasn't good for you?"

He saw the way she flinched slightly and knew he had hit the nail on the head. His stomach twisted painfully as he realised this was what she had been hiding from him all along. She didn't care if he knew every small detail about the rest of her past but this was the one thing she wanted to keep away from him.

It was this that she was worried would cause him to lose his temper and it didn't take much for Shane to guess why.

"What did he do Layla?! Obviously it was something bad or you wouldn't have walked away and you sure as hell wouldn't have made me promise you to stay calm if it wasn't something serious so tell me now or I'll walk out and ask Jason."

Her eyes snapped up to look at him, wide with shock at the thought of him going to ask Jason. God only knows what would happen if he had found out from Jason instead of her and she wasn't there to stop him from doing something stupid.

"No you can't!" She yelled grabbing his hands desperately in an attempt to stop him from leaving. "I'll tell you just please, _please_ don't ask Jason and _do not_ leave this room."

Shane stopped moving towards the door to look at her questioningly.

"Why would it matter if I left the cabin?" He asked curiously before realisation dawned on him. "He's here isn't he? That's why you told them! _"To keep me safe"_ you said _"you understand when I'm finished"._ It's because he's here isn't it?!"

She didn't even get the chance to answer before he pulled away and started ranting to himself as he furiously paced the cabin.

"He is isn't he? That's why you wont let me leave you! You know that if I knew who it was that when I leave this cabin I'd beat the shit out of him!"

She looked down and he let out a howl of anger causing her to shiver in fear at the intensity of it. However mad she thought he had been earlier it was nothing compared to this and the worst part is he didn't even know the truth yet.

If-no _when_-he found out who it was things could only get worse.

"Who is it Layla? Tell me, tell me now or so help me God I will line up every guy in this God damn place and torture them all until I find out the truth!

WHO IS IT LAYLA?!"

She tried to reason with him, get him to calm down long enough for her to explain, to tell him the truth but he just kept asking her over and over who it was. Eventually he got tired of her avoiding his question and started going through all the name's of guys at the camp that he knew finally settling on one that made his eyes go wide with horror and anger.

"It's Danny isn't it?!"

"What?!" Layla was beyond shocked that he could ever think that but before she could defend her friend he went off on one again.

"That's why you've been all over him. He came here and you decided to get back with him but not tell anyone! I thought it was weird that you two got on so well so quickly now it all makes sense! He was the one you walked away from-"

"Danny wasn't my boyfriend." She tried again but Shane wasn't listening.

"What I can't understand is if he was so bad for you why did you get back with him-"

"Danny's not my boyfriend and if you'd just-"

"I always knew there was something weird about him now I know why. He's the sick twisted fuck who messed around with my baby sister and now you...you went back to him!"

"DANNY WAS NOT MY BOYFRIEND OKAY!" She yelled finally having enough and stopping Shane mid rant as he stopped to stare at her, shocked by how loudly she had yelled at him.

"I DIDN'T GO BACK TO HIM WE WERE NEVER TOGETHER! THINK ABOUT IT SHANE WHY WHOULD I TELL HIM THE TRUTH TO KEEP ME SAFE IF HE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS HURTING ME!"

"It is not Danny." She repeated after a moment, calmer than before but still adamant. "He's just a friend that's all."

"But you're so pally with him and the way he acts around you...."

"It's not him okay. We just..click. Sure he's attractive and we both feel _something_ for each other, I don't feel anything real for him other than friendship and I sure as hell would never date him! I didn't even know him until I came here."

"Then who is it Layla?! It's got to be someone here or you wouldn't try and keep it from me so long so tell me who it is-"

"It's doesn't matter!"

"Of course it fucking matters! Something bad must have happened for you to leave and for you to keep it a secret and you think I'm just going to let them get away with it!"

"You don't even know what happened!" She yelled back. "You went off on one before I even got the chance to tell you anything even though you swore-you PINKY SWORE-you wouldn't"

"Tell me." He insisted angrily, finally reaching the end of his patience. "Tell me now Layla!"

"Sha-"

"TELL ME!"

"It's not that-" She tried to reason with him over and over but he just kept yelling at her to tell him. Every time he would get louder and more insistent drowning out any attempts to calm him down and reason with him.

Eventually she couldn't take it any more and reaching breaking point, screamed out 3 words which stunned Shane into silence.

"IT WAS KYLE!"


	38. Chapter 35

**A/N: Hey sorry for the wait. Started the next chapter so as long as I don't decide it sucks so bad that I have to rewrite it 4 times (like I did with this chapter-it's crazy!) I should be updating soon. Hope you like this chapter and thanks for reading and reviewing!**

**Love you guys so much! :P xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 35**

The whole camp was buzzing as campers and councillors alike were busy bustling around trying to get ready for Camp Fire Jam. A group of over eager girls chattering excitedly about their performance were walking past the mess hall when Nate Carter strode past them, towards the shrubbery under the window and threw himself in.

The girls watched in fascination for a couple of seconds before there was a loud rustling noise and two bodies came hurling out of the bushes and landing in a heaped mess on the ground in front of them. They continued to watch open mouthed as the Carter brothers quickly stood up and brushed themselves off, the eldest shot his brother a dirty look before turning around and realising that they had an audience.

Startled he laughed nervously at the girls before waving them away insisting that nothing was going on. They didn't look convinced and hovered around curiously before Nate finally snapped at them to get lost before he put them all on trash duty.

"Jeez Nate you didn't have to be so mean! One of them broke their heel and almost went flying into a tree trying to run away from you!"

"Serves them right." He muttered darkly as he tried to pick bits of leaf out of his hair, grimacing when his hand made contact with something that felt suspiciously like bird poo.

"Who the hell do they think they are?! Bloody kids! They're lucky I only threatened them with trash duty!"

"Damn what bug crawled up your butt?! You're more cranky than usual!"

"I dunno but like the one I'm pretty sure is crawling around in my hair I would rather not know." He snapped back before flicking the offending bug away and shuddering.

He never did like bugs.

"Well it wouldn't have been there if you hadn't come in after me." Jason replied haughtily.

"Oh I'm sorry the next time someone tells me that you're crawling around on you hands and knees in the bushes when you should be helping me to find Layla and Shane I'll just leave you shall I?"

"Why would we be looking for them again I mean how likely is it that-OW that hurt!" He yelped painfully as Nate's hand made contact with the back of his head.

"It was meant to!" Nate snapped back angrily. "What the hell did you think you were doing?! Brown's already on the warpath because of Shane and Layla being missing how do you think he's gonna react when he finds out you've been playing hide and seek instead of helping me to look?!"

"I wasn't playing hide and seek-"

"Oh yeah? What were you doing then?"

"I was looking for tracks." Jason said like it was the simplest thing in the world and Nate's mouth fell open in shock and disbelief.

"You were looking for tracks? Tracks of what?! Caterpillars?!"

This time Jason looked at his brother like he was crazy.

"Of course not caterpillars! I was looking for Layla and Shane!"

"_Layla and_-boy you better run before I beat you!"

Jason laughed loudly in amusement before he caught the look in his eyes and his laugh quickly changed from one of amusement to one fear.

"You wouldn't really-_Ahh_!"

Nate let out a low growl of anger as he launched at his brother causing Jason to stop mid sentence and run away from him as fast as he could. Unfortunately he was so busy trying to get away from his brother that he didn't notice the approaching figure of the irate camp director before he crashed into him causing Jason to stumble back and almost fall flat on his ass.

"I assume the reason why you're running like a mad man is because you found my irresponsible nephew and his erratic sister and were so excited to tell me the news that you ran from whatever rock they were hiding under to tell me. Am I right?"

Jason opened his mouth to talk but before he even got a word out Brown had started again.

"Of course not because from what I can tell you've been spending the last half an hour examining the dirt outside the mess hall!"

Jason's face contorted with confusion.

"How did you know?"

He had always thought that Brown had super powers but he never expected him to be that good!

"Because I've had two complaints already about some weird guy hanging outside the mess hall with his nose to the ground like he was a hunting dog.

One person said that you sniffed so loud that you scared the crap out of them and they dropped a tray full of food for tonight! She thought you were going to attack her for God's sake!"

"But how did you know that was me?"

"Because only you Jason Anthony Carter would be stupid enough to think the best way to find an over emotional teenager and her stubborn brother would be to do something that you saw in Basil the Great mouse detective."

Jason's eyes suddenly lost focus and he smiled wistfully at the thought.

"Damn that was a good movie. Toby was so cool.."

"Focus Jason!" Brown snapped bringing him back to the moment with a sharp jolt.

He blushed slightly and looked down at his feet.

"Sorry." He mumbled, embarrassed that Brown had seen him space out like that.

Sure he'd seen it many times before but it just made Jason feel like he was a kid again whenever Brown talked to him like that.

The older man stared at him for a second before shaking his head slightly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he felt the familiar pounding headache at the back of his head that always accompanied the final stages of preparing for any jam.

"Just find them okay. I don't care how you do it. Tap into your spidey senses, read people's minds,talk to the birds,anything just...find them. Camp Fire Jam starts in just over an hour and I expect to see all four of you there before it starts."

Jason gulped nervously as he nodded his head slightly.

"Got it."

Brown looked at him for a moment and opened his mouth to say something else to him but thought better of it as he closed his mouth and walked off in the other direction without another word.

"God why does he always get so cranky whenever it comes to jams?"

Jason turned around to see his brother standing just beside him. Judging from the look on his face he had been there for a while and had heard the conversation between the two of them.

Jason just sighed.

"Maybe because every year he plans them all out and every year one of us lot does something last minute to mess it all up."

"Not all the time." Nate added defensively and Jason shot him a look.

"First year we came here we accidentally set fire to the stage during camp fire jam, Mitchie's first time performing at opening jam she crashed into a table sending food flying everywhere and starting the food fight of the century and do I need to mention last year?"

Nate flinched back remembering the time he, Sander and Ella had volunteered to sort out the special effects for Final jam and ended up covering everyone in blue goo that hung around for 3 full days before they worked out how to get rid of it. Think that episode of Hannah Montana where Lily created the explosion to turn Ashley green and times that by about 100 and you'll begin to understand the destruction they created that day.

To make things even worse a few of the campers had an allergic reaction to the chemicals they used and broke out into a very painful, itchy rash and that wasn't even the end of it.

Halfway through the finishing act Ella (who for some unexplainable reason had been put in charge of the music) had accidentally spilt her drink all over the sounds system causing it to explode into a huge smoking fireball causing more damage as the resulting fire set alight various parts of the stage and those standing near it.

By the time the campers went home the next day they all looked like smoke damaged smurfs.

"Okay so we may have screwed up a little." Nate finally relented realising that they would have to cut down on their antics before they caused Brown to have a stroke. By the looks of it he was already halfway there.

"And now Shane and Layla have gone missing. He's probably having a stroke right about now." Jason mutters as if he was reading his brothers mind.

"Oh come on that's hardly our fault!"

"Yeah cause we in no way encouraged Layla to run off and look for her brother. In fact we stopped both of them before they could even leave! Really they're not missing at all we just thought we'd hide them in the shed and cause trouble just for the fun of it! Jeez Nate why didn't you remind me earlier?!"

Nate glared at him.

"Okay we might have played a small part in their disappearance. There's no need to get sarcastic about it."

"Yeah well now we're gonna go find them." Jason stated firmly.

"You go find the others-tell them to keep an eye out and if they see them to ring you. If you bump into anyone on your way ask them too. They gotta be here somewhere."

"What are you going to do?"

Jason shrugged slightly.

"Have a look around, check a couple of the other cabins, and if I can't find them I guess I'll just have to try something more drastic."

Nate eyed him suspiciously wondering just how far Jason would go when he meant something drastic.

" You're not going to do anything stupid are you? If I come back and find you crawling through the bushes again-"

Jason sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes at him.

"I promise no more tracking. Meet you back here in 20 minutes. Call me if you find them."

Nate nodded in confirmation before running off back in the direction of the stage. Jason watched his brother run off for a second before racing off in the other direction trying to ignore the feeling in the pit of his stomach that when they did find Shane and Layla something big was going to go down.

* * *

20 minutes later Nate had informed the others and interrogated everyone he ran into and still hadn't found them. Everyone he talked to had no idea they were missing let alone where they might be and the rest of the gang had been so busy that they hadn't noticed the fact that the two of them had been AWOL for the last 5 hours.

Mitchie had been the last person he had talked to and had suggested a few places that Layla and Shane liked to go to when they were thinking and had promised to help search for them once she'd finished helping her mum in the kitchen.

Knowing that could take forever he told her not to bother and dejectedly made his way back to the area where he had last seen his brother.

"Hey I'm guessing by the fact that you didn't call me that you didn't find them either. Mitch did give me some ideas though so we can go look-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

Nate had looked up mid sentence expecting to find his brother standing there in front of him instead he found himself facing Jason's butt.

The rest of his body was shoved inside the chicken coop behind the kitchen where the numerous hens Jason had adopted and left at the camp to provide eggs (and the occasional roast dinner except no one told him that bit.) were kept, clucking and flapping his arms about like they were wings.

"Ahh!" Jason stopped what he was doing as he yelled, stunned by his brother's sudden appearance and jumped about four feet in the air before tripping over his feet and landing on his butt.

Lifting his head up slightly he looked at his brothers irate expression and sighed as he slowly got up and brushed himself off.

"Damn that's another pair of jeans ruined" He muttered to himself before turning back to Nate.

"What did it _look_ like I was doing?!"

"It looked like you had your head shoved in a bird house that's what it bloody looked like!" Nate fumed angrily as he glared at Jason.

"We're supposed to be looking for Layla and Shane _not_ attending petting time at the zoo!"

Jason rolled his eyes.

"It's not a zoo or a bird house it's a chicken coop-you know the place where the chickens live? And I wasn't petting them I was-"

"I swear to God if you tell me one more time that you can speak to birds I will murder you in your sleep then release Marty to the wild!"

Jason gasped in horror, his face suddenly draining of all colour leaving him ghostly pale.

"You can't do that! Those pigeons will eat him alive!"

"Oh yeah?" Nate goaded him. "Try me."

Jason's jaw tightened in anger as he turned to his little brother, staring him down.

"You go anywhere near him and I'll burn every single one of your guitars and then tell Caitlyn what _really_ happened to her cat."

Nate narrowed his eyes at Jason, his body shaking with barely contained anger.

"You wouldn't_ dare_."

Both knew that if Caitlyn (or Mitchie for that matter) found out that it was Nate who had accidentally run over Mr Fluffykins and not a hit and run like they had told everyone else, Caitlyn would hold it against him and Jason for the rest of their lives-Nate more so than Jason as he was her husband and had been the one driving the car at the time.

Neither could bare the thought of that so had promised to keep it a secret-not even Shane knew.

"Oh yeah? Try me." Jason spat out repeating the words Nate had told him moments before hand.

* * *

Without noticing the two of them had inched closer to each other and had moved into fighting stances. Nate was crouched slightly ready to tackle his brother to the ground while Jason was flexing his muscles waiting for Nate to make the first move and for the battle to begin.

Before he got the chance though the sight of a guy with jet black hair carrying a black and white chequered guitar case flying past them at unimaginable speeds caught their attention.

"Was that who I think it was?" Nate asked slowly turning back to his brother, glad to see by the look on his face that he wasn't the only one who'd seen it and made the connection.

"No I couldn't be I mean he would never-"

"And he doesn't like to but-"

"It looks an awful lot like-"

"SHANE!"

Their heads whipped around to see Layla running past them screaming her brothers name furiously as she dashed after him, her hair splaying out in all directions as she fought to catch up with her brother.

The two of them watched open mouthed as she rushed past them ignoring them completely as she pushed herself harder to reach Shane.

The sinking feeling Jason had in his stomach suddenly got worse and without warning began racing after Layla and Shane barely able to keep up with them as they raced at unimaginable speeds through the wooded area towards the main camp site and the stage for camp fire jam.

It was starting to get dark but even from where they were Nate and Jason could see something bad was going on from the look of pure anger on Shane's face and the fear and horror on Layla's.

Something big had happened and as Jason chased after them closely followed by Nate (the slowest out of them all and already struggling to catch his breath at such high speeds) they knew that whatever it was it had something to do with Layla.

A million thoughts rushed through their brains as they tried to come up with an explanation why Shane would react in such a way to something Layla had said. They had never seen their friend so angry, so frightening that the only explanation they could come up with was that she had told him the truth although the truth both of them came to was completely different.

Not knowing any different Nate thought that Shane had found out about her and Jason and as they chased the two through the trees getting closer and closer to the stage area Nate was going through various ways of getting him and his brother out of the country before Shane could hunt them down and kill them-very painfully and very slowly.

Jason on the other hand knew better.

He knew that if Shane had found out about him and Layla he would have confronted him straight away not run past him without a word. No Layla had told him something else-about someone else-and it was them that Shane was so furiously angry with. He didn't even need to guess about who it might be already knowing that the only thing that would provoke that kind of reaction from him would be a threat to his sister and the only one on camp who posed such a threat was Kyle.

Shane knew something alright but it wasn't what Nate thought and as Jason tried to keep up with his friends all he could think about was damage limitation. Now Shane knew nothing would stop him or at least that's what he thought.

Then she said it. The only 4 words in the entire world that had the power to stop Shane in any situation.

* * *

"SHANE PATRICK DARCY GRAY!" She yelled at the top of her lungs causing all three members of Connect 3 to stop and stare at her. "Get your ass back here right now!"

Jason and Nate watched her open mouthed before snapping their heads around to look at Shane,waiting for his reaction.

"Damn I can't believe she just used his full name." Nate whispered in disbelief as she watched the pair of them cautiously waiting for World War 3 to begin. "He _hates_ his full name. He's gonna freak!"

"I cannot believe you just used my full name! You _know_ how much I hate that!" He yelled angrily his whole body shaking in anger and embarrassment.

Nate turned and looked at Jason, a smug look stretched across his face.

"Told you."

Jason glared at him before returning his attention to Layla and Shane.

"What else did you want me to do Shane?! I've been trying everything I can think of since you stormed out of the cabin to make you stop that was the only thing left!"

"Really Layla _GEORGIANA_ Jayne? Really?"

Layla winced slightly at the use of her real name.

Their mum had been a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice and given her children names of some of the characters in the book without thinking of the effect it would have on their lives. She eventually saw the error of her ways and although their names were never changed the only time she ever used them was when they were in serious trouble-hence the wincing.

Shane looked smug for a moment glad that he'd proved his point before turning angry again.

"You can't stop me Layla. He needs to pay for what he's done."

"He did Shane. When Ryan and his mates found out they almost beat him to death."

Shane sneered.

"They didn't go far enough then did they."

"And what you're gonna go finish the job are you? That will really go down well won't it?!"

"I'm not going to let him get away with it Layla. It's not right and you sure as hell shouldn't be defending him!"

She stared at him incredulously.

"You think I'm defending him?! I hate the fucker more than you do but what good is it going to do to go back there and beat the living daylights out of him?!

None that's what!

All you'll do is land yourself in more trouble than it's worth and ruin everything that you've spent the last couple of years building! Is it really worth losing everything for some piece of scum who's better off being forgotten?!"

Shane was about to reply yes when Jason cut him off.

"Listen to her Shane." He added softly. "She may have been wrong to keep it from you but she's right about this.

You go in there all guns blazing and you'll cause more harm than good."

Shane's eyes darkened and he turned to glare fiercely at his best friend.

"You stay the hell out of this you've done enough damage!" He spat venomously. "None of this would have happened if it wasn't for you!"

"She made me promise not to tell you Shane. I swear."

"I'm not just talking about now." Shane hissed angrily and Jason recoiled in shock at the implication of his words.

A part of him always thought that Shane had blamed him for convincing him to put Layla into care. Although he had often told him that it was a group decision and told Layla it was his decision alone Jason always suspected that he had resented Jason for his part in the decision that changed their lives so many years ago-now he knew the truth.

"I did what was right for her Shane." Jason insisted firmly, a hint of anger and hurt in his tone as he locked eyes with his best friend and band mate.

"Then and now and I nothing will ever change that. Her best interests have always come first-don't you ever ever question that again."

Shane's eyes widened in shock at his reaction and stepped back slightly,stunned by the truth behind the words and in his eyes and he continued to watch Jason carefully.

"That's great and everything." Nate spoke up for the first time causing the two of them to break eye contact and turn to look at the other member of the group. "But what the fuck is going on here?!"

* * *

The three of them tensed up as they turned to face the other member of the group. With everything that had been going on they had failed to mention to Nate in the first place why Shane was so ready to go and commit murder.

Layla's eyes flicked over towards her brother who looked like he was ready to rip someone's head off any second and knew that there was no way that he would be able to say something. Even if he could Layla hadn't got around to telling him everything that had happened before he went raring out of the cabin on his death mission and although she couldn't bare the thought of explaining it all again she had no choice-that was of course before Jason jumped in and blurted out everything.

Layla watched open mouthed as Jason told them absolutely everything that she had told him about her and Kyle right up to the fact that he had been with her, touching her and speaking to her yesterday.

The second those words were out of his mouth both Nate and Shane went racing towards the camp site the knowledge that the guy who beat her up having the nerve to think she would want him back too much for them as they cursed wildly under their breaths the whole way there.

"Great job Jase!" Layla huffed as they chased after them pushing themselves further than before to try and catch up with their brothers. "I'm trying to stop Shane from killing him and now thanks to you I have to stop Nate too!"

"Hey they need to know the truth." Jason argued in defence as he tried to keep up with her but was finding it difficult. Running was never really his strong point. "And what makes you think that you wont have to stop me?"

"Whatever. All I know is that if we don't stop them Shane and Nate are going to ruin everything."


	39. Chapter 36

**a/n: hey! I seem to have the writing bug again because the next chapter and half of the one after that are finished so as long as nothing goes wrong they should be up soon! Lol I'm having so much fun writing this story. Hope you enjoy it too!**

**Like usual don't own the characters or the movie-just my own characters and the plot!**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing! xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 36**

"Hello awesome camp rockers! How are we doing tonight?!" Brown called into the crowd and the all cheered and he grinned. "Well we've got some great acts for you tonight so sit back relax and enjoy!"

Suddenly the camp fire behind him lit up and those who hadn't been before gasped at the display before the whole crowd started clapping and screaming for the first performance.

"Alright alright settle down!" The crowd calmed down slightly allowing Brown to talk over them again. "Now before we get started I'd like to hand you over to your hosts for this evening's events, my nephew Mr Shane Gray-"

Brown was cut off by loud screams coming from the crowd before having to quiet them down again.

"As well as his friends and band mates Nate and Jason Carter-Also known as CONNECT 3!"

The spotlight that had been focusing on him suddenly swung to the left hand side of the stage-obviously signalling the arrival of said band members and causing a huge round of applause-only for them not to be there.

The campers suddenly stopped clapping and murmurs spread around the crowd as they all speculated as to where they were. On stage Brown's face fell and he cursed inwardly at his nephew and his moronic friends for yet again messing up another one of his jams.

At least that was one thing that was constant with his rather erratic "family" (for he counted the rest of the gang as his family too) they always knew how to keep things interesting-even if it did annoy the hell out of him!

Turning back to the crowd Brown laughed slightly, an edge of hysteria and panic in his voice as everyone turned to look at him all wondering where Connect 3 was.

"Apparently there's been some sort of problem so it's just me I'm afraid-"

"There they are!" Someone yelled and all eyes (including Brown's) turned to see Nate and Shane darting out of the trees and into the clearing, seemingly oblivious to the large group around them as they looked around for something or someone important.

It wasn't until the spotlight swung over and was pointed right at them that they realised something was going on and Shane came to a crashing halt causing Nate to run straight into them almost sending both of them crashing to the ground. As they turned to look at him and the others Brown couldn't help but think of the expression "like a rabbit trapped in the headlights" especially when a couple of seconds later Layla and Jason came crashing through into the clearing after them and found themselves in the same situation.

All four of them stared at him with a mixture of fear and confusion, knowing instinctively they were in trouble, before Mitchie rushed forward and furiously whispered something to them all before backing away into the crowd again.

The four stared at each other for a second, Layla's eyes pleading as she watched her brother and friends look out into the crowd again before looking back up at the stage. Their expressions were conflicted, almost like there was something more important, something they need to do that required their immediate attention rather than the fact that they had promised to help him before finally making a decision and racing up onto the stage, huge fake smiles stretched across their faces.

"You're late!" Brown hissed once his nephew was finally standing next to him.

"Sorry. Complications. Won't happen again." He muttered softly, his voice straining before turning his attention back to the crowd.

"Hey how you doing guys sorry we're late."

And with that Shane and they guys launched into full professional mode, interacting with the crowd a little longer before finally introducing the first act a mousy looking girl with a powerful voice which had the whole crowd cheering within seconds allowing them enough time to slip out and into the rehearsal area.

* * *

"I heard him telling Mitchie that he and Casey were going to perform tonight. If they're here we'll find them." Nate muttered as they made their way through the various people all hanging out by the stage practising before their turn.

"Yeah well we better find them soon cause we have about 2 minutes before we're supposed to be back out there introducing the next act." Shane whispered back as they looked through the crowd, pausing slightly as he caught a flash of blonde only for it to be someone else.

Jason sighed as he watched his friends scout the area for Kyle and Casey-more so for Kyle but knowing that where you found one you more than likely found the other.

With how close Mitchie and Caitlyn where and how close Shane and Nate were to both their families they both had a better idea of Kyle and his twin than Jason did to the point where they knew what had happened and were ready to kill him before Jason even told them what had happened. Their insane knowledge of the Torres twins and their habits only meant one thing-when they found them (and they would eventually) things wouldn't be pretty.

"Come on guys this is stupid! Even if you could find him there's nothing you can do about it."

The two of them stopped and turned to glare at him-obviously still not over the fact that he had kept Kyle and Layla's relationship a secret from them.

"You." Nate spat, poking his brother rather viciously in the chest. "You say nothing. You had your chance to fix this ages ago and you blew it so stay out of it and let us do what we have to do."

"He's right you know."

All three of them turned around to see Layla standing behind them. From the looks of it she had had the same idea as them and realised that the Torres twins would be in the rehearsal area and raced back there in the hopes of cutting her brother and friends off before they reached them. Luckily she got there just in time.

"Even if you did find them you haven't got enough time to do anything. Adrianna's just finished and the next act's ready to go up. I'd say you've got about 10 seconds before Brown comes looking for you and he's already pissed."

Shane and Nate attempted to stare her down for a couple of seconds before relenting, cursing loudly under their breaths as they realised that she was right and that there was nothing they cold do about it. As Nate and Jason ran off, scared to face the wrath of an angry Brown, Shane held back and turned to face his sister, his expression a mixture of seriousness and anger.

"This isn't over Layla. Me and the guys are switching with you halfway through and when we do you won't be there to stop us."

"Don't I know it." She muttered to herself as she watched her brother race off to catch up with Jason and Nate.

* * *

She waited until she heard them talking on stage and knew for sure that they weren't following her before she weaved her way through the crowd heading straight towards the board at the back where the list of name's performing tonight were pinned up. Why Shane and the guys hadn't gone straight there first she had no idea but she was grateful. Specific areas were cut off in the rehearsal section for those just about to go on stage to wait and if the guys had worked out when Kyle and Casey were going on there was no doubt in Layla's mind that they would have found a way to get at him before he got on stage.

Scanning the list for her own name she was glad to find that she was the last performer of the night and that the Torres twins would be performing while Connect 3 were on stage. They might find it difficult to keep their cool with Kyle so close to them but at the end of the day they were professionals and would never do something with so many people watching-at least not something that would land them in a whole heap of trouble later wasn't great but at least Layla knew how long it would be until Kyle and Casey were on stage and that with them there during the guys spot they would be out of the rehearsal area and hopefully lost among the crowd making it difficult for the guys to find them before Layla got the chance to sort this all out.

The only tricky part was how to keep them apart while she was still on stage. Sure the camp was huge and there were loads of places that they could get lost but the truth was that Kyle and Casey, like most of the other campers and councillors would be watching the rest of the Camp Fire Jam, making them easier to find than if they were somewhere else. There might be more people in the crowd than in the rehearsal area but it wouldn't take the guys very long to find them and without her there to stop them even Jason wouldn't be able to stop himself from beating the shit out of him.

A part of Layla wanted it to happen (a huge part of her) but she knew that if it did the damage might be too much for her to repair and Layla couldn't stand to see that happen. She had to think of a way of stopping them, or at least delaying them, so that she could make them see sense before it was too late.

The fourth performer had already come and gone and the Torres twins would be on in a couple of minutes. She had to think of something and fast.

And that's when she saw her and a huge grin stretched across her face as a plan formulated in her head. It wasn't exactly foolproof but it was the only plan she had and as she ran across the grass towards her dodging various people, even jumping over a few in her haste she became more and more confident in her plan working.

"Caitlyn!" She yelled, quickly catching her friend's attention as she stopped messing around with the sound system and turned to look at her. "I need your help!"

"Where have you been?!" Caitlyn hissed at her, her voice a mixture of anger and annoyance as she waved off a group of girls trying to get her to change their music last minute and worked her way over to Layla.

"Do you have any idea how worried we all were when you went tearing off like that without any warning?! When Mitch found out that you and Shane had disappeared she got so worried that she chewed half her fingernails off!"

"Sorry I got talking to Shane and we lost track of time."

Caitlyn's expression softened slightly but she still didn't look happy-most likely because that group of girls had come back protesting loudly down her ear about how they'd decided to do something different and that it was a matter of live and death for her to change their music that second. Caitlyn turn to look at them, her eyebrow raised in annoyance, before letting out a vicious snarl which sent them scattering in all directions. After that she seemed calmer and turned back to Layla looking much more relieved than she had been before but still on edge, like she was waiting for them to turn up any second.

"So I'm guessing the reason why you were away so long was because you finally got everything sorted out?"

Layla pulled a face and Caitlyn sighed deeply knowing that things weren't as simple as they seemed.

"Sort of. I mean we were going good until I told him something and then he went completely mental, then he told Nate who also went bananas, then me and Jason tried to stop them but they just got more annoyed because Jase kept it a secret and told them all this stuff that made them even angrier and now things are kinda messed up again."

"Layla!" Caitlyn exclaimed loudly once she'd worked out her friend's insane rambling, frustrated that the two of them were still fighting and that her husband had now been dragged into it.

"I didn't mean to start anything and I'll fix it I swear it's just I need you to do something for me."

Caitlyn watched her suspiciously for a second before finally nodding her head in agreement. Anything was better than living in a war zone like they had all been doing for the last couple of weeks.

" do you need?" She asked and Layla sighed with relief knowing that she had Caitlyn's full support and help.

"Okay here's the plan. The guys are gonna be finishing their part in about 20 minutes. When they get off stage I need you to stay with them all the time. Don't let them out of your sight not even to go to the toilet. You stick to them like glue and whatever happens do not let them near the Torres twins!"

Caitlyn's face scrunched up in confusion. The first bit she could sort of understand but why would Layla want to keep the guys away from Kyle and Casey?

"What have Kyle and Casey got to do with anything?" She saw the uncomfortable look flitting over her face at the mention of their names and studied her a little closer, the pieces finally clicking into place. "You told them something about Kyle and Casey didn't you and that's why you want to keep them away from each other. What happened Layla?!"

The uncomfortable look passed across her face again and she groaned with a mixture of pain and frustration.

"I can't tell you now but I promise when this all gets sorted out I will tell you all everything. For now though you just have to trust me and keep them away from each other. Can you do that?"

Caitlyn nodded and Layla's face instantly relaxed as she shot her friend a grateful smile and grabbed her hand.

"Great because I need you to come with me right now." She yanked on her arm and tried to pull her back towards the stage area in time to see the Torres twins perform. Although she didn't think anything was going to happen she wanted to be there just in case before anything serious happened but Caitlyn resisted causing her to turn back and look at her curiously.

"What's the matter you said you'd help me?"

"But I've got something to do here. I'm supposed to be in charge of the music and the sound system I can't just leave."

Layla shrieked in annoyance trying to think of a plan before catching sight of Sander and Barron standing to the the side doing absolutely nothing (a dangerous thing to do when there was a jam going on and it was busy all the time).

Quickly dashing over to them she hurriedly explained that they were taking over from Caitlyn, handed them over the CD's for tonight's performances and pushed them into the direction of the squabbling girls, ignoring their protests as she grabbed Caitlyn and yanked her towards the performance area.

By the time they got there Sasha, the red headed girl in Layla's class and her friend Betsy had finished their performance and were leaving the stage meaning that the Torres twins would be next.

Layla took a deep breath and turned to face Caitlyn.

"This is it." She whispered shakily partly dreading and anticipating what would come next as she turned back to the stage.

Caitlyn stared at her suspiciously for a second wondering what the hell she was on about before turning her attention to the stage as well figuring it couldn't hurt to see what was so important that she had dragged her all the way over here.

* * *

"Thank you Sasha and Betsy!" Nate thanked the girls once the clapping had died down.

"Now please welcome on to the stage-" Shane began but was cut off mid sentence when he turned to the side of the stage and saw Kyle and Casey waiting in the wings totally oblivious to the fact that they knew the truth.

As Shane's eyes connected with Kyles smiling ones he felt his blood boil and the low growl from beside him quickly alerted him to the fact that Nate had seen them to.

The twins' faces suddenly dropped realising something was wrong and the crowd began to murmur to each other wondering what was going happening that caused two members of Connect 3 to stare murderously into the wings and the other to stand there looking at them completely dumbfounded.

It was only when the murmuring reached a height that caught their attention that Jason (the dumbfounded one) turned back to the crowd, his face slightly red with embarrassment before continuing.

"Err...sorry please welcome to the stage just two days after coming to Camp Rock and their first time performing on stage _ever_ the wonderfully talented Torres twins!"

Before they got a chance to do anything Jason dragged the other two off the opposite side of the stage just as Kyle and Casey came on and started introducing themselves. Casey started playing her guitar with such skill that Jason was astounded that she needed lessons let alone was in his beginners class and stopped to listen to her. Hearing enough and sensing that the guys would use the time to get away and go after Kyle he carried on but the sound of Kyle's voice brought him to a standstill as all 3 of them suddenly stopped and turned to stare incredulously at the stage.

"Oh my God. Not only is she good at guitar but that bastard can sing good too!" Shane seethed even angrier now than he was before. The way he had treated Layla had been bad enough on top of the fact that they'd never really liked each other but this really was taking the piss.

"That's what you're worried about?! Listen to what he's singing!" Nate spat and all three of them went quiet as they sneaked closer to the stage so they could hear better over the loud noise of the crowd and the hustle of the people behind them still concerned about rehearsing for their big show.

"_When you see my face _

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_When you walk my way_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Now where's your picket fence love_

_And where's that shiny car_

_And did it ever get you far_

_You never seemed so tense love_

_I've never seen you fall so hard_

_Do you know where you are_

_And truth be told I miss you_

_And truth be told I'm lying_

_When you see my face _

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_When you walk my way_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_If you find a man that's worth a damn and treats you well_

_Then he's a fool you're just as well_

_Hope it gives you hell_

_Hope it gives you hell"_

* * *

"That bastard!"

The three of them turned to the side to see Layla yet again except this time she was seething mad (almost as bad as Shane and Nate had been earlier), Caitlyn standing beside her wide eyed and wondering what the hell was going on.

"He's taunting me the bastard. He's singing about me-the evil shit! Well two can play at that game!" She hissed as she stormed off in the other direction with evil in her eyes only to be pulled back by Jason.

"Hey!" She yelled angrily as she glared at him, not happy about being stopped.

"Hey yourself! What happened to not doing anything because it will cause trouble?!"

She rolled her eyes and looked at him like he was stupid.

"It would cause trouble if _you_ guys beat him up whereas _I_ plan to do something a lot more..._interesting_."

Before he could catch her again she ran off in the other direction only stopping when she was far enough away to wink at him cheekily before running off into the distance.

Jason shook his head sadly, knowing this could only end up badly as beside him Shane and Nate looked after her smugly happy that although they couldn't do anything to him Layla would more than make up for it with whatever she had planned.

"I knew she wouldn't just take it lying down." Shane smirked his voice a strange mixture of pride and amusement.

"Still doesn't mean we can't have a little fun ourselves she just doesn't need to know about it." Nate added with an evil smirk causing Shane to grin in agreement and Jason to groan.

"No guys! As much as I'd love to teach that guy a lesson it'll only cause trouble. Mark my words whatever she's planning is gonna end badly for all of us."

The three of them started arguing between themselves over the point, the whole time Caitlyn was watching them slack jawed in shock and confusion. She was just about to open her mouth and ask what the hell was going on when the music stopped and the crowd started applauding.

* * *

Almost as soon as they arrived Connect 3 were gone and back on the stage introducing the last act of their set leaving her there to stare after them in amazement. She didn't stare long though because the next thing she knew her phone was buzzing: an incoming call from Layla.

"Layla?! Where the hell are you and what is going on?!"

"I'll explain to you later." Layla huffed sounding out of breath before there was a couple of loud banging noises followed by a high tinkling noise that sounded a lot like glass breaking.

Layla let out a hysterical giggle at the sound before a high pitched wailing like some type of alarm cut her off and Caitlyn winced pulling the phone away from her ear before calling out her friend's name again.

"Layla! Layla what the hell is going on and what was that?! Where are you?!"

"Like I said I'll explain to you later right now I just need you to go and persuade the guys to stay on and cover for me a little bit longer. I'll be there soon there's just something I need to sort out first."

"Like what Layla? LAYLA!" She tried again but the girl had already hung up. Yelling in frustration at badly being left out of the loop without any other choice but to do what she was told Caitlyn ran over to the stage just in time to catch the guys wrapping up their set and getting ready to introduce Layla.

* * *

"Now someone you know and that we all love, she's a camper but she's also a councillor, a killer dancer with a voice to match and the ability to be annoying and brilliant all at the same time please welcome to the stage taking over for the rest of the night the wonderful and hugely talented LJ Winters!"

Already a huge hit among everyone at the camp (including the on site campers who hated Connect 3 and the rest of the gang but made an exception for her) the crowd let out a loud cheer only to be greeted by Caitlyn walking hurriedly onto the stage and up to Shane, whispering furiously in his ear before racing back off. Shane smirked slightly and bit back a laugh, ignoring the curious looks of the guys and the murmurs from the crowd as he turned back to face the audience.

"Sorry guys but LJ's a bit tied up at the moment so looks like you're stuck with us until she finally decides to show up." The crowd cheered again and the guys laughed imagining the look on Layla's face when they told her that. They might love her but Connect 3 was still the best."Love you too guys!"

The cheering got louder and so did the guys laughter. Even Caitlyn was finding it funny that after so much time at Camp Rock and after being in the business so long they could get the same reaction they got all those years ago when they first became famous.

"Alright enough from us!" Nate called out into the audience once the laughter and noise and calmed down. "It's time to move on to our next act. Please welcome straight from LJ and Jason's advanced dance class-"

he stopped for a moment to nudge his brother who was blushing slightly. This was the first year he'd been in charge of anything other than guitar or singing and his brother was loving the opportunity of embarrassing Jason about his dancing skills

"-The awesome singing and dancing trio that are Lucy, Lizzy and Ginger!"

The campers began clapping again as the group of girls came on stage. Lucy, Lizzy and Ginger were three of Layla and Jason's most talented students and had been preparing them all week for this. They were the most talked about act out of the whole evening and everyone was so excited that they didn't notice Connect 3 slipping away into the wings, heading straight towards Caitlyn.

Well almost everyone didn't. Mitchie, Ella and Peggy who had been put on crowd control that night to make sure no one got into too much trouble had been watching the three of them like a hawk since they came crashing into the clearing earlier.

Out of them all Mitchie was the most observant and as she glanced over to see the three of them whispering furiously to each other she couldn't help but feel like something big was going on-something she didn't know about but probably should knowing her friends and family so well but before she could do anything Casey appeared out of no where and raced towards her excited and red faced from her first ever performance at Camp Rock.

* * *

"That was so cool Mitch!" She shrieked excitedly as she threw her arms around her sister. "I loved it thank you so much for convincing me to go up there!"

Mitchie hesitated for a fraction of a second as she decided whether or not to follow the guys and Caitlyn or hang around with her sister before finally hugging her sister back. Right now this was more important and they were bound to tell her what was going on later. They should know by now that it's never a good idea to keep secrets especially in a place like Camp Rock.

"Aw Case you were so good!" She congratulated her sister, quickly pushing back any other thoughts until later as she moved away and stared teasingly at her.

"Why didn't you tell me you were so good at guitar?! I would've got Brown to put you in a higher class if I knew!"

Casey blushed slightly and looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Well I guess I kinda forgot now much fun it was. I haven't been playing a lot lately and... well..yeah." She trailed off as Kyle slowly made his way towards them, stopping beside his twin and throwing his arm around her.

"Hey Mitchie! Is Case boring you with how talented she is?" He asked cheekily causing Casey to stick her tongue out and Mitchie to chuckle slightly at the childishness of it.

"Nah in fact she's rather too modest-for once." She grinned at her sister as Casey pulled a face, narrowing her eyes at Mitchie as Kyle broke out into such a laugh that his whole body was shaking from the force of it.

"Thanks guys." She snapped. "Is this national pick on Casey day or something cos if it is I'll be sure to stay at home next time."

"Aww." Mitchie rushed forward and hugged her sister affectionately. She never really did like teasing her siblings-she was always too scared that one day it would go to far and one of them would get hurt. "you know we don't mean it!"

Casey shot her a look as she pulled away a small smile playing on her lips.

"You maybe but not him."

"Hey I'm offended by that!"

Casey rolled her eyes at him.

"How can you be offended by the truth?!"

"Oh not that." He dismissed her quickly as he turned to face Mitchie a mischievous smirk spread across his face. "You told her she was good and didn't tell me! Everyone knows I'm way better than her-Ow!"

He was cut off when his mum came up behind him and swiftly whacked him around the back of the head.

"Stop being rude to your sister." She ordered sternly but laughed when she saw the childish pout of his face, leaning over kiss him on the cheek. "You were great honey. And Casey you're sister's right you were amazing sweetie. First thing tomorrow I'm gonna ask Brown to transfer you to a higher class and get you some private classes."

Casey beamed hugely at the idea of being in a class full of people who loved guitar like she did but her good mood quickly faded when she realised that would mean that her brother would be left in a class alone with LJ. Without her there to keep an eye out for him there was no telling what could happen and there was no way she was going to let her brother get himself into a situation like that again.

"Err that's great mum but I think I'd rather-"

The rest of her protest was cut off as the crowd cheered. Turning around to see why they were so loud they saw LJ strut onto the stage along with Connect 3 and their jaws dropped. Even the guys were finding it hard not to look at her-although it was more a glare and a hiss to get of stage and get changed rather than an appreciative gaze.

"Oh no this isn't good." Mitchie muttered as she watched her sister in law apologising for being late. It wasn't the being late that Mitchie was worried about but the fact that somewhere between being found and going missing again she had changed out of her normal jeans and t shirt into a tight fitting strapless mini dress which barely covered her ass and platform heels all in bright red that looked like they belonged in a nightclub rather than Camp Rock.

Shane kept on trying his best to move in front of her and shield her as much as he could from people's eyes, all three of them silently sending her daggers as they waited for her to finish introducing the next act before dragging her forcefully off the stage-no doubt to demand that she change into something else before they strangled every single guy in the audience.

"This is not good." Mitchie repeated as she saw the thunderous faces on her husband and friends faces as they dragged her away. "Shane's gonna freak."

"He's not the only one." Connie muttered from beside her and Mitchie realised for the first time since Layla came on stage that she wasn't the only one there.

Turning to look at her mother she was puzzled by the expression on her face until she followed her line of sight and another more familiar expression on another face confused her even more. Standing beside their mother glaring at the stage with the same look Shane and the guys had had Kyle was shaking with anger at LJ's appearance, beside him Casey's eyes were narrowed in anger and annoyance.

"What's that all about?" Mitchie asked her mother. "The guys I can understand but-"

Before she could say anything else Kyle and Casey had stormed off in the other direction both of them looking like they were ready to kill. Connie and Mitchie watched them both for a second before Connie grabbed her daughter's arm and led her back towards the kitchen insisting that she needed help right away.

"But the jam's almost finished and LJ's the last act!" She protested but Connie insisted that she needed help cleaning up for tonight or they would never be ready in time, not taking no for an answer as she dragged her protesting daughter away.

In reality she just wanted to shield her daughter from the trouble that was about to be caused by her youngest children and LJ so that she wouldn't find out the truth about what happened between them. As far as Mitchie knew the three of them had known each other at school and that was all she would ever need to know.

Mitchie sighed knowing that there was no point arguing with her mother as she followed her back into the kitchens praying that nothing bad would happen while she was gone although her instincts were telling her that something big was on it's way and whatever it was it was trouble.

If only she knew how right she was.


	40. Chapter 37

**a/n: Hey here's the second part of the camp fire jam scene. I've got the next chapter written but I've hit a bit of writer's block at the moment so not sure when I'll update again. Hopefully it'll be soon-the holidays are almost over I'm running out of time!**

**Anyway hope you like this and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**BTW song used in the last chapter was Gives you hell by AAR-forgot to put that down before!**

* * *

Chapter 37

"I can't believe that's why you were so late I thought you were off doing something bad not getting dressed up like that!" Shane seethed angrily as she paced the area behind the stage unable to look at his sister.

Jason on the other hand couldn't take his eyes off her and Nate had to keep kicking him every couple of seconds to stop his eyes from travelling up and down Layla's body like he was trying to decide whether to jump her there and then or wait until they got back to the cabin.

Layla didn't help much as she leant over to wipe a bit of dirt off her shoe giving everyone an eyeful causing Jason to bite his lip in an attempt not to moan out loud and for Shane to curse wildly at her in.

"Jesus Layla! There's a few things in life that I could do without seeing and _that_ is one of them!"

"Oh shush! If Mitchie was wearing this instead of me you'd be all over her. That's the only reason you haven't been able to at me for the last couple of minutes cause you keep picturing Mitch in it. Am I right?"

He glared at her knowing that she was right and she laughed lightly causing his glare to increase.

"The big difference there being that Mitchie is my _wife _and _you_ are my 17 year old sister and you wearing that...well it's just wrong."

"Maybe." She agreed. "But it's serving a purpose. Excuse me a second."

Layla flashed them a quick smile before rushing out on stage and introducing the next act leaving all three of them staring after her in confusion.

* * *

"What the hell do you think she meant by that?" Nate whispered to his brother who shrugged slightly, too busy enjoying the view of Layla's ass than paying attention to what his brother was saying.

He soon paid attention though when he felt someone smack him around the back of the head and was surprised to find that it wasn't his brother but Shane who'd caught him out staring so blatantly at her butt.

"Dude that's my little sister stop staring at her like that!" Shane snapped angrily. "Anyone would think you liked her or something."

Nate and Jason's faces went pale as they laughed nervously.

"Ha! Jason liking Layla! That's so incredibly stupid I mean that would never happen! The chances of them even liking each other that way it's just-"

Jason suddenly covered his brothers' mouth stopping him from saying another word.

"You know you really have to control this whole rambling when you're nervous thing before you land someone in trouble." He hissed in his brother's ear hoping to God that Shane didn't try and ask them what was going on.

"Sorry." He muttered once Jason had taken his hand away.

Shane shook his head at his best friends wondering just how he had put up with them all these years when Layla suddenly popped up beside him causing him to scream slightly in shock.

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Jeez Shane you scream like a girl."

He narrowed his eyes at her as the other two laughed loudly enjoying Shane's obvious discomfort not only at being told that he screamed like a girl by his little sister but also the fact that with the shoes on she was almost as tall as him. Shane had always loved the idea of being taller than her and rubbing it in her face as much as she could so the idea of her suddenly being the same height as him (even, he resented to say it a bit taller) annoyed the hell out of him and made him feel very, very uncomfortable.

"How the hell did you manage to sneak up like that anyway in those shoes." He said disdainfully staring down at the heels like they came straight from hell. "If you fall over and break your neck don't you dare come running to me I'll tell you that right now."

Layla rolled her eyes at her brother again knowing it was what she was wearing and his wariness at her increased height that was making him so unbelievably cranky.

"Remarkably easily actually. Years of practice you see." She smirked at him, tapping the side of her nose as he growled angrily at her, causing Layla to smirk even more.

* * *

"As great as it is to watch you two squabble like little kids would you mind telling us why you wearing that is serving a purpose before you have to run off again."

Nate asked indicating towards the stage where the Danny was currently performing his own version of _I'm on a boat_ (swear words and all) even though Brown had forbade anyone from singing anything with explicit lyrics and/or swearing. Nate could see from here that he was close to having a stroke and was just seconds away from yanking them off stage meaning that Layla would have to disappear any minute to intoduce the next act and do damage control.

She sighed and rolled her eyes yet again-something that was quickly getting on their nerves.

"I thought it would've been easy. What's the one thing he wants but can't have?"

Surprisingly Jason was the first to work it out and he gasped in a mixture of shock disbelief and anger.

"Are you crazy?!" He hissed fiercely unable to believe what she was doing. "You thought the best way of sticking it to him was to parade yourself in front of him to make him realise what he's lost?!"

Shane and Nate's eyes went wide as they suddenly realised what was going on.

"Oh my God Layla do you have some sort of thing for pain or something?!" Nate exclaimed loudly and she smirked causing him to shudder a little not having to look at the uncomfortable look on Shane's face to know there was something behind that smirk-something he'd rather not know about.

"So let me get this straight. You wont let me beat the crap out of him because it will cause trouble but you're absolutely fine with taunting him?! Layla this is insane! He's already made a move on you since coming here how do you think he's gonna react now?!"

* * *

She laughed at them causing the three of them to get even angrier before walking back onto the stage to introduce the next act-the last one before her own. When she came back they still looked as angry as they did when she left and she couldn't help but start laughing again.

"This isn't funny Layla he could seriously hurt you!" Jason argued seriously, worried for her safety.

"You really think this is about him?" They looked at her confused again and she laughed. "No he'll get his later. This is about someone else."

They still looked confused and she sighed wishing that they were a little quicker then it wouldn't take so long to explain everything. If Mitchie was here she would get it straight away but then again if Mitchie was there it would be a totally different incident all together.

"This dress is Casey's. When I was sorting out Kyle's little _present_ earlier I saw it and figured might as well kill two birds with one stone. She's as much to blame about all this as he is and what better way to get back at her than to nick her pulling dress."

They stared at her open mouthed in disbelief and also shock at what she had done.

"Wait. Pulling dress?" Jason questioned and Layla smirked a little.

"_High heels, red dress..._" She began to sing and their eyes went wide.

"_All by yourself, gotta catch my breath._" They finished before shuddering violently at the thought of it-Shane more so than the others knowing how much of a crush his sister in law had on them (especially him-although she made sure Mitchie never knew about it).

"She must have known you were coming and decided to bring it with her. When she saw me up there on stage in her dress with you guys she must have completely freaked!"

"Ugh that's just so wrong!" Nate shuddered again still freaked out by the idea of Casey Torres liking them like that and going to such extreme lengths to get their attention.

Layla just shrugged. She stopped being creeped out by her ex best friend's insane attachment to them years ago.

"So if all this." Jason said, indicating to the dress as he looked at her, finding it much easier to look at her now without jumping her now he knew who it really belonged to. "Was to annoy Casey-what did you do to Kyle?"

The band that had been on while they were talking suddenly stopped and the crowd began cheering. Knowing she was on next and that all would be revealed Layla smirked as she made her way out.

"You're about to find out." She whispered before grabbing the microphone off Caitlyn who was helpfully standing in the sidelines ready to fulfil her promise to keep an eye on the guys while she performed. "If I was you I'd get a good seat- this is about to get interesting."

She smiled at them again before sauntering out onto the stage and hugging the band members as they made their way off stage.

* * *

"Thanks guys-weren't they brilliant?!" The crowd screamed again and she smiled. "Well I guess it's time to wrap this thing up but before I do I just want to say that this has been so amazing and that I love you guys so much! Camp Rock really is the best place in the world!"

The whole crowd screamed again and from the sidelines a couple of the councillors called out from the crowd causing her to start laughing again. She turned to her side and saw Brown standing on the sidelines a massive smile stretched across his face and as their eyes connected he winked at her.

"You rock it poppet." He mouthed to her causing her to laugh even more.

"Okay Okay guys settle down." She managed to get out once she stopped laughing. "Before I wrap this thing up until next week when we go through this all again for Musical Jam-" A couple of the councillors groaned (including Barron, Sander and Lola from behind the scenes) causing them all to laugh again. "Yeah as you can see were all looking forward to it but before we go there's one last act and that would be...well me."

The other campers clapped loudly and she smiled at them before nodding her head towards Barron telling him to start playing the CD she passed to him before she came on stage earlier.

"Now this is a song that most of you probably know but I thought I'd put my own little spin on it tonight." She called out as the introduction started playing. "So before I start I'd like to say that this is for all the people who've ever been cheated on by those they thought they loved and thought that they loved them back. Maybe you'll come to terms with it the same way I did."

She looked out into the crowd for a second her eyes connecting briefly with Kyle's who stared at her in confusion before smirking slightly and beginning her song.

_Right now, he's probably slow dancing with a_

_bleached-blonde tramp_

_And she's probably getting frisky_

_Right now he's probably buying her some Fruity little drink _

_'cause she can't shoot whiskey_

"Oh no." Caitlyn muttered from her position at the side of the stage finally realising what Layla meant when she told the guys that things would soon become clear.

Hearing her mutter something Nate turned to look at her along with the others, dragging their eyes reluctantly off Layla who looked like she was having the time of her life up there on stage to stare at her in confusion.

"Oh No what?" He questioned causing Caitlyn to bite her lip nervously, not quite sure whether to laugh or to be worried.

"Oh you'll find out soon enough. Listen."

_Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool-stick _

_showing her how to shoot a combo_

_And he don't know... _

_That I dug my key into the side of his Pretty little souped up _

_four wheel drive _

_Carved my name into his leather seat_

_I took a Louisville slugger to both head lights_

_Slashed a hole in all four tires_

_Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats_

They gasped as they stared at the stage wide eyed before spinning around to face Caitlyn who's expression was still a mixture of shock, worry and amusement.

* * *

Everyone knew that Kyle being part of the catering service and having shown up a couple of hours after his mother had brought his car. Actually to be technical about it he had brought the top of the range brand new Jeep that his parents (with the help of Mitchie and a reluctant Shane) had bought him for his birthday a couple of months ago.

It was state of the art, with a super charged engine **(a/n dunno if you can super charge the engine of a jeep the only reason I know super charge is a real thing is because I like to watch the pretty cars on top gear :P lol ) **and most importantly...it was a four wheel drive.

"She didn't!" Shane gasped in disbelief before adding desperately. "Please tell me she didn't."

Caitlyn bit her lip a little not sure whether to tell him or not but finally relented knowing that he needed to know the truth.

"Earlier when she called me to tell you to cover for her she was really out of breath. I thought she was running or something but now..." She trailed off not wanting to say the rest.

"But now what Cait."

She sighed.

"There was a couple of loud thuds like she was hitting metal-"

The guys winced just imagining what kind of damage she had done to the body of his car. They already knew she had a knack for destroying cars accidentally-God knows what she would be like if she actually meant it.

"And then there was this really high tinkling noise like glass breaking-"

They winced again-that's probably the headlights if the song Layla was currently belting out at the top of her lungs was right.

"And then there was a high pitched sort of wailing noise then she was gone."

Shane groaned and banged his head against the palm of his hand repeatedly.

"That was probably the alarm when she smashed the window to get into the car. Those seats are probably ruined by now." He groaned again. "God that's gonna cost a fortune to repair! Why out of all the things in the world she could choose did she chose to completely destroy a car that's worth over $60,000!"

"That's what you're worried about?!" Jason exclaimed incredulously, unable to believe out of everything that had just happened he was more worried about how much he would have to pay out than anything else.

"Layla has just pranced up on stage in her ex best friends pulling dress, obviously something extremely important to her as no one knew about it until today, and is currently singing on stage in front of said best friend and her ex boyfriend a song about him cheating on her in front of everyone-including his family- making it perfectly clear to at least them two what she has done and you're worried about how much money you'll have to spend to fix it?! Are you crazy or just plain dumb?!"

"Ha coming from the dude who thought that the moon was made out of cheese until he was 17!"

Jason glared at him.

"That was not my fault Sandy told me that when I was little and I never thought to question it. And at least I can tell the difference between a woman and a man in a dress!"

Shane's face darkened and his eyes turned cold as he glared at his friend.

"Hey that was a long time ago, I was drunk and she was pretty!"

"Yeah until you were close enough to notice the Adams apple and five o'clock shadow and the next thing I know you're running away screaming like a little girl!"

"Err....guys." Caitlyn tried to call, catching their attention but they were too busy arguing to pay her any attention.

"Well at least I didn't end up getting myself engaged to _Tess Tyler_ of all people! I'd rather sit and have a drink with Jamie the pre op transsexual any day of the week than end up marrying _her_!"

"Guys could you stop, it's kinda-"

"Maybe but at least I was smart enough to call it off before it went to far instead of actually marrying her!"

"You got married!" Nate yelled in surprise and disbelief. "You got married before Mitchie and you didn't tell me?!"

"I was drunk.."

Jason laughed dryly.

"You know a lot of your stories tend to start with that. _Oh I didn't mean to throw up all over your girlfriend Jase I was drunk, Whoops was that your ass I touched instead of hers sorry dude I'm drunk, I swear officer I thought it was baking soda-by the way did I mention I'm drunk_!"

"Shut it Jase!" Shane snapped angrily before turning back to Nate to finish explaining "It was a long time ago. Me and Gertrude got it annulled the next day."

"Guys." Caitlyn started again this time more insistent as she tried to gain their attention but now al three of them were too involved in their conversation to pay her any attention.

"Gertrude?! You married a girl called Gertrude and you didn't tell me. You didn't tell anyone?!..wait how come I didn't know and he did?!"

Jason snorted in amusement.

"Cause he got absolutely plastered and decided to marry the first woman he could find in Las Vegas then run down the middle of the street in his birthday suit."

Nate stared at him open mouthed.

"What it _was_ my birthday!"

"Just cause you came into this world on that day with nothing on did _not_ give you the right to do it again in the middle on a busy street as pissed as a parrot 19 years later! They had to call me to bail him out because for some strange reason out of all the people he could have called to bail him out he chose me because he _actually thought I gave a rat's ass_!"

"GUYS!" Caitlyn yelled sensing this was escalating into a full out argument and not having the patience or the time for it.

"WHAT!" They yelled back, annoyed by the distraction.

"Kyle and Casey are heading this way right now and they do not look happy."

* * *

Nate, Shane and Jason all swivelled around in time to see Kyle and Casey storm through the rehearsal area, barging past anyone and everyone in their way and heading straight for the stage. Before they got the chance though the guys stood in front of them blocking their path, Caitlyn standing hesitantly beside them worried what would happen next.

She didn't need Layla's earlier warning of keeping them apart to tell her that something bad was going on but now it was too late to do anything. Kyle and Casey were raging made, obviously working out what had happened to his car and her dress and were determined to fight tooth and nail with Layla over it while the guys looked like they were ready to rip their heads off.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shane asked tersely as Kyle tried to push past him.

"You know what I haven't got time for this bullshit. Whatever that bitch told you it's all a lie."

All three of them growled angrily at his choice of words and although Caitlyn had no idea what was going on she was less than pleased with his vocabulary as well.

"Don't ever _ever_ call her that again." Shane snarled causing Casey to laugh as she pushed her way in front of her brother.

"Why not? It's the truth after all-isn't it? A female dog is a bitch and LJ is a dog in every sense of the word." Casey sneered leaning forward slightly to really get in their faces. "And believe me- that isn't a good thing."

Suddenly she was fiercely yanked back by Caitlyn who'd had enough of her trying to intimidate the guys and bad talking Layla so pushed herself in front of them acting as a barrier between the twins and Connect 3.

"If you know what's good for you Casey you'll back off." She said warningly. "You may be related to my best friend but if you do or say anything like that again I will kick your ass. The same thing goes for your brother. Do we understand each other?"

"Crystal." She smiled back at her falsely, knowing better than to piss Caitlyn off, as she stepped back a little before removing her eyes from Caitlyn to glare at the guys.

"That b-_thing_- stole my dress and wrecked my brother's car. Whatever_ lies_ she might have poisoned your brain with her actions speak louder than words and it's more than clear what she's done. Now she has to pay for it."

"Really?" Nate sneered at her, annoyed by her attitude and the smug look on Kyle's face. "Because I'm pretty sure that you'd need proof for that otherwise it's just an accusation. Don't you agree guys?"

Jason, Shane and Caitlyn nodded enthusiastically. They all knew that she'd done it but there was no way in hell that they were going to let Kyle and Casey think that they had the upper hand in this little battle.

"_No proof_?! She's just been on stage singing about trashing a car because her ex cheated on her after going missing for a whole day in which at some point my brother's car was completely trashed and my dress was stolen from the back seat! You can't call that coincidence!"

"I bought her that dress yesterday." Caitlyn added quickly, thinking on he feet as they guys stared dumbstruck ahead of them, obviously having no idea what to say to that. "Bargain deal. Got it all for $50 while I was out shopping."

"Bullshit!" Casey seethed. "That dress is worth over $1000! I know because that's my dress!"

"If you paid $1000 for that then you got conned. Stupid dumb blonde bimbo." Nate muttered under his breath causing the guys to snicker and Casey to narrow her eyes at him, hissing slightly in anger.

Caitlyn raised her eyebrow in amusement at this before turning her attention back to Casey and her brother.

"Ah your "_Burnin' Up_" dress." She nodded her head in understanding as the younger girl blushed, stunned that Caitlyn and the others knew about it. "Tell me Casey. How'd that work out for you?"

The others snickered slightly and her face turned bright red with embarrassment and anger at them knowing her secret.

"As for the other thing. LJ was with Shane all afternoon trying to fix whatever mess you two created and over run meaning that she was late getting changed this evening. All perfectly innocent and not once was she near your brother's car."

"You can't possibly know that!" Casey snapped at her "Fine- she might have been with Shane- but I _know_ you were here earlier while she was "_running late_" therefore she had the perfect opportunity to trash his car and everyone knows what that _thing_ gets up to when no one's looking"

Shane made a grab for her ready to shake some sense into her but Jason and Nate pulled him back-not wanting any of them to be the first one to start the fight they all knew was going to happen.

Casey saw this and smirked although she couldn't help but be confused and curious about the action.

_It was almost like he actually was her brother and that couldn't be true. Could it?_

"Whoops!" She smirked again quickly brushing her previous thought aside. "Hit a nerve did I?"

"Right that's it!" Caitlyn shouted finally having enough of this stuck up bitch and her brother who had remained silent the whole time, smirking with an evil glint in his eyes, like he was enjoying what he was seeing. "This is the last time I'm going to tell you to back off before I kick your scrawny ass all the way back to whatever rock you've crawled out from."

"Please you'd never do that!"

"Oh yeah?" Caitlyn challenged her. "What makes you think that?"

"Because if you do anything to me or my brother I'll tell Mitchie and she'll never speak to you again. You might be her best friend but _I'm_ her sister and blood is always thicker than water. She'd never pick me over you so don't even go there bitch."

* * *

They all winced instantly taking a step back.

Nate, who was seething mad that she had the nerve to say that to his wife, knew better than most not to hang around and took a huge step backwards waiting for the fireworks to begin. All this time he was worried it would be him or the guys who started the fight he never thought it would be Caitlyn. Everyone held their breath as Caitlyn's face turned to stone and she moved closer to Casey so that they were facing each other, their noses almost touching they were so close.

In that second even Casey realised she was in trouble and gulped nervously.

"I don't care who's sister you are never, _ever_ try to threaten or blackmail me or my friends again and if you ever, _ever_ even think of calling me that again I will make your life a living hell. By the time I have finished with you you'll be begging for death. Do we understand each other?"

Casey nodded slightly stuttering slightly as she agreed.

"Good." Caitlyn snapped as she moved back to stand next to the guys again.

"The dress I bought Layla was back at the cabin, she most likely ran there and ran back or got a lift off someone else, got changed then came back here. The whole time she was gone I was in contact with her so there was no way that she could have done something to Kyle's car without me at least being suspicious. Now that's all cleared up do everyone a favour and leave right now before I get you kicked out-permanently."

"That's a load of shit!" Kyle roared furiously pushing past his sister and trying to get past the guys who were surrounding the stage,stopping him from getting to Layla who was just finishing wrapping up for the evening.

"She did it she did everything! All she ever does is lie and cheat and scheme and the bitch has to pay! It's all her fault everything! She deserved everything she got and everything she's gonna get!"

"If I even hear of you going near her again I will kill you do you understand me?" Shane's voice was so strained with the effort to keep his anger under control that it sounded painful to even hear it.

Kyle suddenly stopped trying to push past them and looked at his brother in law, a sinister smirk on his face.

"Ah that's what this is about. The psychopath finally wormed her way into where she always wanted to be. Not quite his sister but being the bit on the side's better than nothing eh? After all that was the only thing she was ever good for."

That's all it took for all hell to break loose.

Before Caitlyn could stop it Kyle was on the ground all three of them on top on him hitting any part of him they could find. Eventually though the shock wore off and she along with a couple of other people standing nearby and Casey managed to separate them before they could cause too much damage to each other. All four protested and tried to get back, throwing four letter words at each other and threats of further violence until a loud whistle alerted them of someone else's presence.

_"What the hell is going on here?!"_

_

* * *

_**A/N: So what did you think? :P**

**Songs used or referenced to in this chapter were- I'm on a boat by the lonely island (lol love it ;P) **

** Burnin' up by the Jonas Brothers**

** Before he cheats by Carrie Underwood. (I've been looking for a way to write that song in for ages!)**


	41. Chapter 38

A/N: Hi! Sorry for the long wait! Took me ages to edit this so that I didn't get completely stuck about how to write the next couple of chapters. Another case of I know what I want to write but don't know how to write it! Hopefully this was worth the wait and I'll try to update ASAP. Don't know when I'll be able to update after that! Lol let's just say my a level results were okay but could be a lot better in some areas (_cough*History*cough_) so it looks like I'm gonna be spending the next couple of months practicing for resits as well as A2!

**BTW congrats to everyone who got their a level, GCSE's or any other type of exam results over the last couple of weeks. Hope you did great! :P:P**

**Enjoy and thanks for reading and reviewing! :P xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 38

"_Please _Uncle Brown,_please_?! I _swear_ I'll be good from now on!" Layla pleaded with her uncle as she followed him around his cabin, going from room to room as he tried to sort out the various pieces of paperwork that needed to be sorted out before camp started again on Monday.

Stopping to pick up a folder of song lyrics for his vocal class he turned to face his niece with a sigh.

"You said that the last time Layla and now look what's happened?!"

He walked off into the other room to pick up another stack of papers and Layla threw her hands up in the air in frustration before chasing after him; refusing to give in without a fight.

"I know I messed up Uncle Brown but isn't there some other punishment you can give me?"

"Like what Layla? You refuse to touch anything that may have germs on it so trash duty is completely out of the question.

You can cook but Shane's threatened to hack me in to little pieces and feed me to the chickens if I let you any where near that place again and there's no way that I can trust you do anything that involves going into town because thanks to your little stunt the other week you're practically banned from the place.

The only thing left for you to do is chores around the camp site and with your habit of causing havoc with minimal effort I'll be up to my neck in debt trying to replace what you broke by the end of the month. So what Layla do you suggest in a good enough punishment?"

She stared at him opened mouthed enable to think of an argument.

"Exactly even you know that there's nothing you can say that can change my mind you just thought you'd chance it and see what you got."

He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose before turning to look at her, his expression serious.

"My decision still stands. No leaving the camp site without adult supervision, No going anywhere without me or one of the guys and absolutely no musical jam."

Layla knew just from the tone of his voice that there was no point arguing with him and with a high pitched shriek of pure frustration at not getting what she wanted she crashed out of the cabin and stormed away ignoring Brown's shouts at her to come back.

"Stupid boys telling stupid secrets to stupid uncles....stupid bloody uncle Brown." She muttered darkly as she stormed through the camp grounds heading towards the dock.

Shane and Mitchie were always telling her that's where they liked to go when they needed to calm down, to be able to think and right now that was exactly what she needed-to be calm not to think- she'd been thinking enough the last couple of hours.

* * *

Ever since Brown walked in on the guys and Kyle about to start round two of their little "argument" and heard what Layla had done (the guys and Caitlyn tried to insist that she didn't but Brown wasn't having any of it) he had been stricter than before.

Not only had he banned all trips outside Camp Rock he'd also restricted her movements within the camp itself thanks to the guys spilling everything about her and Kyle the second the twins had run off to lick their wounds, annoyed that Brown hadn't thrown her out the second they told him what she did and planning revenge.

It had only been 12 hours since Brown had imposed his restrictions she knew there was no way that she could last the next 3 weeks living like this!

Even walking from the cabins down to the main camp site had been banned and although she had insisted she could do it without Kyle jumping out of the trees and trying to kill her Nate insisted that he drive her down to the main camp site himself with Jason as extra protection just in case.

"In case of what?!" She shrieked. "Just in case Kyle trained a squirrel to attack me on sight?!"

She tried begging, pleading and even threatening but they would have nothing of it and a couple of minutes later all three of them were making the drive down to Camp Rock.

It was just her luck though that as the got out of the car and were making it across the car park a squirrel shot out past them. The next thing she knew she was flat on the ground, both guys lying on top of her, shielding her like the squirrel had had a shout gun or something and was trying to kill her. Once she screamed at them for a good couple of minutes and issued yet more threats towards them they backed off but she could still see them hovering behind her out of the corner of her eye all the way to Brown's cabin, only leaving her alone once they were sure she'd made it inside safely.

The worst part of it all though, the thing that pissed her off the most and drove her to make the trip down to the main camp site on her day off in the first place, was the fact that Brown had banned her from Musical Jam next week.

Not the worst punishment in the world with the amount of jams this place had it wasn't like it was the only chance she had but because the guys and Caitlyn had been given the same punishment Brown had deemed that there wasn't enough entries without them and cancelled the jam all together.

Many of the councillors especially Barron, Sander and Lola were jumping for joy when they found out but Layla and Mitchie had been devastated. They'd put so much hard work into their performances and when Mitchie found out Layla could tell that she was upset by it so had set off this morning determined to change Brown's mind. The only problem was that Brown was more determined than her and now even after almost an hour of grovelling on Layla's part he was showing no signs of backing down.

* * *

Layla shrieked again in frustration as she threw herself down onto the dock, dangling her feet off the edge and sitting there silently for a second before throwing herself back onto the hard wooden deck underneath her. She winced painfully as the lines and groves in the hard wood poked through the thin layer of her t shirt and dug into her back. Any other time she would've got up or at least moved around to try and make herself more comfortable but at that moment Layla would rather focus on the pain of being uncomfortable rather than focusing on the thought going on in her head and the mess that was her life.

"Penny for them?"

She groaned; quickly feeling reality creep back in as she opened one eye to see Jason hovering above her watching her with a mixture of amusement and concern.

She groaned loudly for a second time and shut her eye again plunging her back into darkness, hoping that if she stayed like that long enough that when she opened them again everything would be good again-or at least-less complicated.

It didn't work though and when she opened her eyes a couple of minutes later Jason was still standing there looking at her with the same expression of concern and amusement-although to her it looked like amusement was winning the battle as she continued to groan in frustration.

"Believe me Jase you don't want me to take you up on that offer. There's way too much going on in my head right now for you to understand. Hell even I can't make sense of it all." She muttered into her hands as she covered her face, still trying to hold onto any ounce of peace she could find-not that there was much to begin with and since Jason had turned up reality was beginning to catch up with her too.

"Try me." He said softly as he laid down on the dock next to her.

Turning on her side Layla looked at him for a second, a small smile pulling at the corners of her mouth, before sighing and turning back again to look up at the sky and the clouds above them.

"Every thing's just so messed up Jay Jay! I thought having Shane know the truth would make me feel better-and it does, don't get me wrong- but now I feel bad for not telling Mitchie!"

Jason sighed and reached over wrapping one arm around her shoulders and using the other to grab her hand, causing the usual sparks to travel up and down their spines which was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

"You shouldn't feel bad about anything Lay. We all agreed that the best thing for Mitchie is to wait and tell her after Camp Rock is over."

She sighed again knowing that he was right but still feeling bad about it.

"I know I know but I can't help but feel that she's gonna be hurt that we kept it a secret from her all this time." She mumbled, subconsciously moving towards Jason and resting her head on his arm as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Whatever happens Mitchie's gonna get hurt. As much as we all hate it and wish it was different that's the truth. We just have to deal with it the best way we can."

"I know but it just doesn't seem fair!"

You were the one who wanted this remember? Me, Shane and Nate wanted to tell her straight away but you knew how much Mitchie loved having us all together for the first time and you didn't want to ruin it for her by telling her straight away. You wanted her to have the perfect summer with her friends and family before we told her the truth and as much as it pained me and the guys to say so you were right.

Mitchie's the person who brought us all together and keeps us together. If it wasn't for her you wouldn't be here and I know for sure that every single one of us can't imagine life without you any more so we have a lot to thank her for.

By getting Shane to bring you here, to bring you back into our lives, she's made us stronger and closer than we were before, the least we can do is let her be happy for a little while longer...God knows when she'll be happy again after she finds out the truth. You shouldn't feel bad for giving her that Layla not at all."

By the time he had finished Layla felt so guilty that she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the nearest rock and die. The feeling was so strong that it caused her stomach to churn like she was being ripped apart from the inside and the force of it was making her want to puke. This wasn't what she wanted the last thing she wanted was to cause any pain to anyone-especially Mitchie!

"Yeah and who's fault is that?!"

She finally shouted out the guilt weighing on her conscience to much for her to keep it in any longer.

"Mine that's who's! Sure she'll be happy for the moment but that's all going to come crashing down and it will be me who caused it!

Mitchie's life was all good before I showed up and now look what's happened?! She's constantly in the middle of fights between her husband and the sister in law she never knew she had, lying and keeping secrets from Shane about us and now I'm just weeks away from telling her that her angelic younger siblings are in fact evil and that her parents knew for months but chose to lie to her instead of telling her the truth!

Oh and to top it off, once I've waded in and totally destroyed her perfect little life by telling her that everyone she's ever trusted has basically lied to her and that she's a terrible judge of character, I'll have to tell her that I'm going to die and cause even more of a mess that she'll end up having to clean up!"

She took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed after her little rant before continuing this time in a softer, more composed manner.

"I know that I've only known her a couple of weeks but I love her like she's a sister and it kills me Jason to know that I'm the one who's going to hurt her the most."

Suddenly Layla felt her head being lifted up as Jason grabbed her under the chin and angled her face towards him so that she could look him in the eyes.

* * *

"_Don't you dare ever say that again_." He whispered determinedly, furious that she would blame herself for this mess rather than those who were really to blame.

" Mitchie loves you-we all do. You didn't ruin anyone's lives in fact you made it better.

Shane wasn't the same while you were gone, none of us were. We thought that when we met the gang and found true love and friendship again that we could be happy again, that things were back to normal, but it was only when you came back that we realised we were wrong.

You make us happy Layla- all of us- no matter how much we fight and scream and however much trouble we seem to get into when you're around no one-and I mean no one-would change that for the world.

Mitchie loves you Layla and she cares for you more than I've ever seen her care for anyone else except for Shane. It's crazy how much she looks out for you so don't ever say that what's happened and what's going to happen is your fault because that couldn't be further from the truth.

None of this is your fault Layla. None of it."

He let go of her face, knowing that he'd gotten through to her as she sighed once more before laying her head back down on his shoulder allowing the two of them to fall into a comfortable silence and they thought about what he had just said.

Layla knew that he was right but there was still that part of her that made her feel guilty for what had happened.

Kyle might have been the one who started it but she should've been the one to stop it before I went to far and completely took over their lives, destroying their own as well as so many others in the process. Maybe if she had things wouldn't have turned out this way and Mitchie would be saved the pain of knowing the truth after being kept in the dark for so long.

She had had the chance to stop it before it got this far, the chance to stop Kyle before he caused so much harm to so many people, but she had been too weak and scared of being alone to leave him. Looking back on it now she felt stupid for ever believing him and his lies but at the time...

Layla sighed, brushing the thought aside as she leaned further into Jason's body, enjoying the feel of him beside her and the warmth of the sun on her skin.

He was right-he was always right (not that she would ever tell him that!). None of this was her fault and all she could do now was enjoy what privileges she still had and to have fun with her friends and family before the drama began again.

* * *

The realisation caused the thoughts that were buzzing around her head causing the pounding headache that was starting behind her eyes to calm down and she sighed again, this time in relief, as she could finally relax properly for the first time since she woke up this morning.

She laid there in silence for a while just watching the clouds moving above her, trying to make out what each one looked like-_a dragon with a balloon, a monkey, a sunflower_ the list was endless as each cloud past by- when a deep contented sigh from beside her brought her back down to Earth (more specifically back to the deck at Camp Rock) where she was currently snuggled up to one of her best friends.

Lifting her head slightly to look at his face she smiled warmly at him, his eyes closed trying to block out the sun as he relaxed in the warm heat, a content smile stretched across his face,reminding Layla of the Jason she knew as a little girl before his parents died and their lives became so complicated.

Suddenly finding her friend more interesting than the sky she turned on her side, wriggling closer to him so that her head was laying on his shoulder raised slightly so that she could look at him properly while her arm was draped across his body.

She felt him tense a little and wondered if he would brush her away before he relaxed again, his smile even wider than before, obviously enjoying the position he now found himself in. She sighed with relief knowing that he wouldn't push her away before moving closer and closer to him until she was fully pressed against his body, one arm wrapped tightly around her shoulder as the other held just as tightly to the hand that was now resting on his chest. Only then did she finally relax enough to close her eyes and fully enjoy the warmth of the sun on her skin, grateful that Jason was there with her without interruption from anyone else.

Although they had agreed to be friends both of them knew that what they felt for each other was more than friendship and with everyone off site or doing their own thing it was nice to be together without having to worry about what other people might think. Just to lay there comfortable in each other's company.

Nothing could've been better than that-of course Layla then ruined it by opening her mouth shattering the perfect silence that had been surrounding them. As much as she wanted it to stay away the thoughts had started creeping back during the silence and now it was all she could think about.

* * *

"You know you're right. About it not being my fault I mean...well almost." She added the second part as and after thought causing Jason to groan as he ran a hand over his face, annoyed with her utter lack to shut up for more than a couple of minutes and to always get her way whether it was right or not (and this was definitely not right!).

Unlike Layla he'd stopped thinking about this whole sorry mess altogether and was quite happy laying there next to her in the silence. He felt no need to talk about it but apparently Layla did and now any chance of getting back to the blissful state he was in a couple of minutes ago would be completely out of the window if she didn't talk about it leaving him no choice but to talk about it. Something that was frustrating him to no end!

"How may I ask did you reach that conclusion?" He asked figuring it was best to get it over and done with then he could carry on with his daydreaming.

"Well it's my fault that Musical Jam is cancelled and as much as that sucks for me it sucks even more for Mitchie. She busted a gut trying to get everything ready for next week and now she's left with nothing."

He lifted his head up slightly to look at her in disbelief. If it wasn't for the perfectly serious look on her face he would've thought it was a joke.

"Musical Jam? That's what you're worried about? The other councillors have been pestering Brown to get rid of it since he first announced it and you think that it was your little stunt that caused it to be cancelled?"

She nodded and he groaned again throwing his head back on the deck with a loud bang.

"God Layla you and Shane really are related."

She chuckled lightly not quite knowing what he was getting at but figuring that was the best bet with him.

"What gave that away, the jet black hair which no one else in the world seems to have, the quick wit or the amazing and unlimited talent we just happen to share?" She asked jokingly although she couldn't help but be confused by what he was saying.

"No- you both seem to obsess over the strangest of things. Although the hair is kinda strange."

She smacked him lightly across the chest and sat up to glare at him.

"Shut up about my hair. I love it and so do you or you wouldn't have spent the last five minutes playing with it."

She looked pointedly at one of Jason's hands which had weaved it's way through her hair playing with the choppy blue and black strands between his fingers. Following her eye line he quickly worked out what he was doing and yanked his hand away as a slow blush crept into his cheeks at being caught out.

"Sorry." He muttered, his face turning even redder as she giggled.

"Don't be. I kinda liked it." She winked at him cheekily and although she didn't think it was possible he turned even redder.

She started to giggle a little before she remembered the rest of what he said and slapped him around the chest again.

"Ow what did you do that for?!"

"I do not obsess over stupid little things- Hey now what's that for?!" She questioned him when he shot her a look.

"Layla you're the only girl I know who would think that being used as a human dartboard was a suitable enough punishment because someone dyed your hair orange."

She glowered at him, crossing her arms over her chest as she pouted fiercely, remembering that event vividly.

"It was neon orange for 4 weeks! The old guy down the road who couldn't see past the end of his nose could see me coming a mile off it was that bright! And Nate knows how much I love my hair!"

She snapped, her hand subconsciously going to her head and grabbing a chunk of it to check that it was still the same colour it was a couple of minutes ago and Nate hadn't sneaked in and turned it another colour while she wasn't looking.

Jason looked at her like she was crazy before shaking his head.

"See that's what I mean! When Nate did that to me a couple of years earlier I just told him that the dust bunnies were gonna eat him in his sleep. Sure he may have needed a couple extra hours in therapy for it but at lest I didn't land him in A and E. You on the other hand obsessed over something little and ended up being the reason why Nate had to get a fork removed from his ass."

"Yeah well if he hadn't kept trying to run away I wouldn't have had to throw it so hard and it wouldn't have hit his ass. Plus he deserved it. What he did to you wasn't half as bad as what he did to me." She muttered darkly, still not fully convinced that Nate wasn't hanging around in the bushes with a bottle of neon orange hair dye.

What that boy had about dying people's hair without them knowing she didn't know but that had been one prank too far as Layla was concerned-then and now.

"He shaved half my hair off and dyed the rest of it bright pink and you think _you_ had problems! I looked like a deranged clown! My senior year _sucked_ thanks to him and his little prank!"

_Damn he did I remember now! _She thought trying her best not to laugh at the image of Jason that popped up and letting him know that he'd won this little war of words.

"You _know_ that's not the point here!" She snapped back quickly growing tired of their argument and the fact that she was losing.

She remembered that time and as bad as it had been for her it had been ten times worse for Jason but there was no way that she was going to let him know he'd won.

That was something else she had in common with her brother.

"The point is I do not obsess over the little things and even if I did-_not that I'm saying that I do!_-but if I did, this isn't little. Mitchie but so much hard work into this and you should've seen the look on her face when she found out that it had been cancelled.

It almost broke my heart Jason! She's such a kind person and it's not fair that out of everyone she's the one who's gonna suffer the most."

"Well then do something about it." Jason stated like it was the most simple thing in the world.

"Like what Jase?!" She yelled angered and annoyed that he could even say something like that, knowing full well that nothing could be done.

"I can't go back in time and warn myself to stay as far away from Kyle because he would turn out to be the jerk who abused me, broke my heart and just because Karma really is a bitch happens to be my future sister in law's brother can I?!

And it's not like there's much else I can do so what exactly can I do about it?!"

Jason was silent for a moment, long enough for Layla to catch her breath again and for him to get over the shock of her little outburst before answering.

"Well you're right there's not much you can do about the whole Kyle thing but there is one simple thing you can do to make everyone feel better not only Mitchie."

She stared at him blankly obviously not getting what he was talking about and Jason groaned unable to believe how slow she could be at times-and coming from him that really was saying something.

"Jesus Layla! It's staring you right in the face you'd have to be thick not to get it!"

She glared at him and he realised that he'd pushed it too far. He held out for a couple more seconds hoping she would get it but obviously they were getting no where fast and the more he put it off the more agitated she got until finally he gave up and told her.

"Musical Jam Layla. You just said that she was upset when it was cancelled and that she put so much hard work into it so why don't we just have our own version back at the cabins tonight.

We've been threatening Nate with a belated 21st birthday party all week and this is the perfect excuse. There's no way he'll be able to say no without feeling guilty for upsetting you and Mitchie and you'll get your musical jam.

Mitchie's happy that she's had her jam, you're happy because she's happy and the rest of us will be happy because of you two being happy-even Nate,eventually.

That's a lot of happiness Layla. It may be a short term fix but it's better than nothing."

* * *

They remained silent for a moment before Layla let out a squeal of excitement and launched herself at him wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him tightly.

"That's great Jay!" She squealed, still hanging on to him tightly. "I love it and Mitchie will too! Thanks Jay!"

He chuckled slightly.

"You're welcome." He said softly and then suddenly without thinking he did the one thing he'd promised he wouldn't do since he saw her in that dress yesterday.

He kissed her.


	42. Chapter 39

**A/n: hey sorry it's been so long. College and writer's block have been crazy. This is just one of the MANY MANY versions of this chapter that I've written. Hope fully you like it!**

* * *

**Chapter 39**

"So we were just standing there and the next thing I knew he totally had his tongue down my throat."

"No! Eww that's so disgusting!"

"I know! I mean it's not like I don't like the guy or anything but-"

Caitlyn groaned and grabbed her headphones, quickly shoving them on in an attempt to block out the sound of her friends going on about last night. Not that she wasn't happy for Peggy that she found some random guy to make out with but she just wasn't in the mood to even try and pretend that she was happy. She had made a half hearted attempt already by just showing up but it was more an opportunity to get out of the cabin and away from Shane's bad aura than a chance to hang out with her friends.  
Not that she could really blame Shane's bad mood for her own anyway. She had been in a funk for the past couple of weeks but last night's little fiasco and it's subsequent revelations had more than pushed her over the edge to the point where she wasn't going to even try to be sociable.

"Oh my God he didn't!" Ella screeched causing Caitlyn to groan again as a loud round of squealing began forcing her to turn up the sound on her computer to try and drown them out.  
She had a whole week's worth of work to look through and assess, plus all the other work she had to do outside Camp Rock. The others may have been able to put back their schedules but she couldn't.  
As the giggling and high pitched squeals of disbelief increased she tried to drown it out and focus on what she was doing but it was so hard. Every couple of seconds she would hear a noise and think it was the phone ringing or someone outside the house and she would become distracted again. If it wasn't that then it was the girls chatting noisily about something or the guys complaining about the noise and in the middle of it all was Caitlyn, doing everything she could to not jump out of her seat and scream bloody murder at them all. It wasn't that she was scared or nervous about something. It wasn't even that she was angry with them it was just that-she just felt...different and that annoyed her more than the screeching, cackling and complaining ever could.

This whole thing with Kyle and Layla hadn't helped either. After the fight last night Layla had sat down with her and Connect 3 and told them everything. It wasn't pretty and there was a fair few death threats,curses and tears all around they had agreed to keep it hidden from the others and do whatever they could to keep Layla safe but it wasn't half fraying Caitlyn's nerves. She had been in the same room as Mitchie all day and every time she tried to talk to her friend she had to bite her tongue to stop herself from blurting out the truth about her brother. It was only for the fact that Layla had begged them all to stay quiet and the fact that it would break Mitchie's heart which stopped her from proclaiming to the whole world what an ass Kyle really was and the pressure was making her feel sick to her stomach. She was pretty good at keeping secrets but she hated keeping secrets from her best friend-it tore her up inside and Caitlyn wasn't sure how long she would last.

"Hey are you all right?"

It took her a while but Caitlyn finally figured out that they had stopped talking to Peggy and were now looking at her, their eyes full of concern.

"Err yeah..." She replied weakly, her voice catching in her throat making her cough loudly. "Err I'm just a little out of it I guess. Don't worry about me."

She flashed them what she hoped was a reassuring smile and after a couple of seconds they went back to whatever they were doing, all except for one-Mitchie who watched her cautiously, holding her gaze longer than the others as she tried to figure out what was going on until finally giving up. Although she went back to the conversation she was having with Peggy, Lola and Ella she kept a close eye on her best friend who looked like she was going to keel over any second. Mitchie had noticed how strangely she had been acting recently (stranger than usual anyway) and had thought nothing of it until last night when she and the other members of Connect 3 came back looking like they were about to burst into tears any second. Since then Caitlyn had barely made eye contact with her, kept talking to a minimum and avoided almost all contact with her or anyone else. Mitchie had only ever seen her best friend like this on a handful of occasions and when ever she acted this way Mitchie could be sure of one thing-Caitlyn had a secret and she was going to find out what it was.

* * *

"Hey Cait."

"Jesus!" Caitlyn exclaimed and almost dropped the glass she was holding to the ground as she whirled around to look at her friend who was standing in the doorway, an amused grin spread across her face. "Jeez Mitch give someone a little warning the next time you decide to enter a room."

"Well that would defeat the idea of sneaking up on someone altogether wouldn't it?" She said lightly, the smug grin still spread across her face as she made her way into the room but it quickly disappeared when she saw the look on her friend's face.  
It didn't take a genius or even a best friend to see that she was upset about something, the conflict of emotions showed on her face and Mitchie sighed as she sat in the seat opposite her friend and grabbed her hand; squeezing it tightly is a sign of affection and support. It was meant to be a comfort to her but all Caitlyn did was gasp loudly and recoil from her, yanking her hand away like she had been burned by her.

"What's wrong Caitlyn?"

"Nothing."

"No Cait it's not nothing it's something. You've been acting strange for weeks..."

"I have?"

This was news to Caitlyn-as far as she knew she'd been fine. A little bit tense and moody for a couple of weeks but it was to be expected with the work load that she had, the classes she had been teaching and now the secret she was keeping. She thought that she'd been handling the pressure quite well-obviously not.

"Yeah you have. And if just got weirder after last night-"

Caitlyn's whole body tensed up and she visibly winced as the memories of last night came flooding back reminding her of the huge, life altering secret she was keeping from her best friend.

"Ha! Like that!" Mitchie shouted with conviction, pointing her finger at her victoriously. "All the tension and jumpiness like you're just waiting for something to happen. Something's wrong I know it!"

"Nothing's wrong Mitchie..."

"Yes there is-you're lying to me I can tell!"

"I'm not..." She began but was cut off by a loud gasp coming from her best friend's mouth.

"Oh my God I know what it is!" She shrieked excitedly, jumping up and down in her seat completely oblivious to the look of dread and pure horror on her best friend's face.

"You do?"

Mitchie nodded enthusiastically and Caitlyn groaned burying her head into her hands.

"God I'm so sorry Mitch. I didn't want you to find out like this....but why are you so excited I thought you would be at least a little bit upset or something?"

"Why would I be upset my best friend's pregnant! I'm going to be an aunty!"

Caitlyn's head snapped up so fast that she almost broke her neck.

"What?! No-" But then a thought slowly dawned on her. At almost breakneck speeds she rushed over to the calendar on the other side of the room, checking and then rechecking it just to make sure but there was no doubt.

She was late-by almost a week.

"Shit!" She cursed loudly, pressing against her eyes with the heel of her palm in an attempt to stop the tears that were burning behind her eyes from escaping as she shook her head in disbelief before opening her eyes again and looking at the date hoping it had changed.

It hadn't. She cursed again.

"I'm guessing that wasn't the secret that you were hiding from me huh?" Mitchie said sheepishly and Caitlyn's eyes flew open to glare angrily at her.

"You think?" She hissed venomously at her causing Mitchie to wince slightly making Caitlyn feel bad all over again.

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you again it's just...Argh! I don't think I'm ready for this Mitch! Not now, not with everything going on."

Mitchie sighed deeply and got up from her seat to walk over to the other side of the room to stand next to her friend.

"I know that things have been busy for you what with work and this place then all the other drama that's been going on the last couple of days but isn't this what you've always wanted? For as long as I've known you you've talked about finding the one and having a family with him."

"Yeah when the time was right not now!" Caitlyn exclaimed as she began pacing the kitchen floor, too many ideas, thoughts and feelings buzzing around her head for her to even consider staying still.  
"We agreed that we wouldn't have any kids until after everything calmed down Mitchie-there was a reason for that. Can you imagine bringing up a kid in this chaos?!"

Mitchie chuckled lightly and shot her friend a look of amusement.

"Cait this is Connect 3 we're talking about-things are always going to be crazy."

Caitlyn smirked a little.

"I guess you're right. So what am I going to do now?"

"Well you are going to go back in there, relax and actually look like you're glad to hear about Peggy and her mystery man while I am going to go to the nearest drug store and buy you a test."

"Hang on a minute I'm the one who could be pregnant not you so why are you going out instead of me?"

"Because you need to relax. You've been walking around like you've had a stick shoved up you're ass all day and plus...some day I might need you to do this for me-consider it an investment for the future."

She shot Caitlyn a quick wink before grabbing her jacket and rushing out the back door leaving her standing there shaking her head at her best friend's behaviour before turning to head back into the front room.

* * *

"Hey-where did you disappear to?" Lola asked her cheerfully as she walked back into the room and jumped into the seat beside her, taking Mitchie's advice to relax and completely ignoring the small electrical device on the floor even though from where she was she could see that she'd got another dozen or so emails since she left the room.

"No where just the kitchen. I needed to get a drink that's all."

Ever the observant one, Peggy's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and she pointedly looked at Caitlyn's empty hand; quickly catching the younger woman out who immediately began blushing.

"Well look at that-must have left it in there. Be back in a tick."

By the time she came back from the kitchen (making sure this time to bring a glass of water back in with her) they'd all gone back to their separate little conversations like nothing had happened-and in a way-nothing had.  
Caitlyn wouldn't be sure if she was expecting until Mitchie got back with the tests and she actually got the courage to take one, Shane had locked himself away in his room to sulk which meant that he was out of the way and Layla, Jason and Nate were...well they were off doing whatever they do whenever they not being supervised by everyone else. Caitlyn bit her lip nervously at the thought of the three of them being left on their own without her or Mitchie making sure they didn't get into trouble but quickly brushed it off; refusing to let it wind her up any more than she was. After all Mitchie had told her to relax and that was exactly what she planned to to- plus with Brown there to keep a look out they wouldn't get the chance to even think about getting themselves into trouble. For now at least everything was calm-or at least that was what she thought.

"Hey isn't that Mitchie brother?"

"WHAT?!"

Faster than he could blink Sander had been shoved out of the way as Caitlyn scrabbled up from her position on the floor to push past him and press her face to the glass trying desperately to see if there was anyone outside.

Ow! Caitlyn that hurt!"

Sander protested loudly as she forcefully nudged him out of the way so that she could see more clearly out of the window but she didn't care, she was far more concerned with the idea of Kyle Torres and Shane Gray being in the same state as each other never mind the same cabin.

Shane had been spitting feathers along with the rest of Connect 3 when they returned last night and it had taken everything in hers and Layla's power to stop them all from going out and finishing the job they started on Kyle after Camp fire Jam.  
Part of the reason why Caitlyn had suggested that they all hang out at the other cabin instead of going off site was so that she could keep Mitchie and Shane separate while still making sure that she could a keep a close eye on everything and everyone going in and out of their cabin. Turns out the one time she had stopped watching like a hawk and allowed herself to relax that creep shows up and screws everything up!

The others who had reluctantly gone back to their conversation moments earlier stopped what they were doing, took one look at her pinched up, anxious face and quickly followed her to the window hoping that whatever was going on out there would explain what the hell was going on with her. They weren't disappointed.

"Nothing, nothing." She said absent-mindedly when Barron asked what was wrong. That only made them even more nervous, especially when she added with a fake casualness. "Are you sure that it was Kyle that you saw outside a minute ago or maybe..."

Sander's brow wrinkled in concentration for a second as he tried to remember the face of the person he just saw outside their cabin making his way up the driveway to the other cabin, Caitlyn's cabin, which was set a bit further back than their own.  
He and the guys had only met Mitchie's family properly every once in a while with their crazy schedules and only in passing over the last couple of days while at the camp but he was sure that it was him that he saw and as he gave Caitlyn a description of the mystery guy he couldn't help but feel that he was right-but her reaction was something that he never expected.

* * *

Her whole face went white, like she had suddenly been drained of all the blood in her body and her eyes went wide with fear. Instantly everyone became even more worried and crowded around her constantly asking her what was wrong and trying to comfort her (Although none of them quite knew exactly what they were comforting her for).

"What's the matter Cait? Come on you know you can tell us." Lola said softly attempting to coax the truth out of her but she refused, shaking her head weakly from side to side.

They sighed deeply.

"Come on it can't be that bad."

"Yeah." Ella agreed. "It's not like Kyle and Layla were dating or anything and now Shane's gone all macho over protective brother on him is it?"

Without thinking Caitlyn gaped-unable to believe that Ella had figured out what was going on and in doing so she gave away the secret she swore she wouldn't tell.

"NO!" They all gasped unable to believe it themselves. "She didn't."

Caitlyn nodded-there was no point hiding anything from them now that the cat was well and truly out of the bag-all she could do was tell them as much as she knew without getting into too much detail. After all-it wasn't her story to tell.

By the time she was finished all of them were staring at her wide eyed in disbelief and more than a few of them were itching to race up the driveway to the other cabin and give him a piece of their minds (and a couple of blows with their fists to make sure the message got through as well of course) but Caitlyn had managed to put them off by telling them that Shane was plenty pissed off enough for everyone without them all running in and making things worse.

"That's why I need you to be certain that it was him and not Danny or one of those other guys from Camp Rock-they might get out alive. If it was Kyle..."

She didn't need to finish that sentence because the next thing they knew a body had landed outside the window followed shortly by another who landed straight on top of him and the two began wrestling each other.  
It took them a moment to get over the shock and try to work out what was going on but once they realised that it was Shane and Kyle out there (with Shane on top trying his hardest to strangle him to death) they quickly sprang into action and rushed outside to separate the two of them.  
Caitlyn had been closest to the door when they had crash landed outside the window so she was first out and with a type of strength none of them knew she had possessed had managed to get Shane off the boy and drag him far enough away for Kyle to scurry away and get up on his feet again. Unfortunately Kyle took this opportunity to wipe the blood off his face then go charging straight for Shane again not caring that Caitlyn was standing in the middle of them and would get caught up in the action. Luckily the others had paid attention and Sander, Lola and Peggy restrained him while Barron and Ella rushed over to help Caitlyn hold Shane back.  
The whole time the two of them were flinging insults, curses and threats at each other each more vulgar and disgusting than the first until Caitlyn had finally had enough and along with the others hastily made the decision to make the separation a little more permanent-dragging Shane off in one direction towards his cabin and leaving the others to take Kyle into theirs to get fixed up.  
None of them really wanted to and as they carried him into the cabin Caitlyn swore that she saw Peggy viciously kick him in the shin.

Her suspicions were confirmed when he let out a loud hiss of pain and growled at her.

"Sorry." She muttered but everyone could tell that she didn't mean it. They would have laughed at the insincerity of it if the atmosphere was so tense.

As it was the atmosphere was so tense that you could cut it with a knife and it had taken one locked and bolted room, three people guarding the doors and the threat of telling Mitchie and Brown who had destroyed the room in an attempt to get out (and therefore who would be paying the extortionate repair fees) before he would even calm down enough to stop shaking and yelling like something possessed.

Then it was time for Caitlyn to start shouting.

* * *

"What the fuck Shane?!" She roared at him, pushing him forcefully into the wall behind him praying to God that it would at least hurt a little and knock some bloody sense into him-not that he wasn't pretty beat up already.  
Kyle had managed to scuff him up a little during their little fight yesterday but it was nothing major-now he looked like he'd gone though 8 rounds with Mike Tyson. He was better than Kyle though-he looked like he'd been in for 12 and was now just a mass of walking bruises, blood and what Caitlyn suspected was a broken nose.

"What do you mean what the fuck?! You heard what he said about Layla last night and then he comes back here telling me all kinds of shit about her again! I couldn't stand back and let him say that about her!"

Caitlyn scoffed loudly and rolled her eyes.

"Of course your over protectiveness and pride got in the way again and now look! You've had the crap kicked out of you, Mitchie's seething mad and threatening to camp out in her mum's living room for the rest of the Summer and now her brother is probably on the phone to the police right now complaining about how the big bad pop star flipped out and beat up an innocent teenager!"

"INNOCENT MY ASS!" He roared, his anger flaring up again as he made a beeline for the door only to get pushed back into the room by the others who were guarding it like it was the crown jewels or something instead of a boring lump of wood.

"Move!" He roared but they wouldn't budge and after a couple of attempt he gave up; opting for sitting in the corner of the room with his head in his hands-a clear sign that the temper tantrum was over with (at least for a while) and he was ready to talk.

They waited patiently, knowing after many years of experience no to push the point any further or risk putting him in an even worse mood. They waited and waited for what seemed like forever until Shane finally moved a little and made a noise that sounded like a mixture of disgust, anger and hysterical amusement.

"I have just made this into the most exciting game ever." He whispered darkly, chuckling a little at the end of his sentence with such disgust that the guys all turned to look at each other, shooting each other a worried look.

"Is he channelling his inner Edward Cullen or something?" Ella whispered softly to Barron as she questioned her friend's sanity; thinking that Shane hadn't heard her but the amused snort from the corner of the room alerted her to the fact that he had heard her perfectly.

"Something like that-only I don't think there's any way of stopping this guy. He's more than lethal-he's a fucking psycho and he's got Layla in his sights and this time I don't think he's gonna let her go."

Before they could ask him any more the door that they were guarding so carefully suddenly swung open and Peggy rushed in. Her face was ashen and her eyes full of tears but more than that she looked scared-horrified even. That wasn't what they were concerned about-what the were most concerned about was the large gash over her left eye which was slowly trickling blood down the side of her face and what looked like the beginnings of one serious black eye. It didn't take them long to work out what happened and Caitlyn shook her head in disbelief as she listened to her friend's shaken explanation.

"He just went mental-we couldn't stop him. I-I'm so sorry Shane."

"What happened?" Caitlyn's voice was barely a whisper as she pulled her attention away from her bleeding friend to look at Shane who's face had turned a deadly shade of white as he shook his head fiercely in disbelief. Obviously he knew something that the others didn't and Caitlyn swore that she saw tears in his eyes as he sat there in shock-it only took a couple of words from Peggy to make them all realise why and suddenly Caitlyn too began to feel tears come to her eyes.

"I am so sorry Shane."

But sorry wasn't enough. What Peggy had just said was enough to make the blood in their veins turn cold.

Shane was right-he'd just turned this into the most exciting game ever and Caitlyn wasn't sure if any of them would get out of this unharmed.


	43. Chapter 40

**a/n: Wow 2 chapters in a day! Hopefully I'm not gonna regret this later but if I don't to it now I'll chicken out and not put it up for another couple of months. This was originally the second half of chapter 38 (it was a really long chapter!) and is the reason why I have had such bad writer's block. Seriously it took me 12 goes to decide that the original with a little bit of re working was the best-or at least I thought it was. What do you think?  
Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy!**

**p.s: This chapter takes place around the same time as the last chapter! :P**

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* * *

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**Previously (Chapter 38): **

_"You're welcome." He said softly and then suddenly without thinking he did the one thing he'd promised he wouldn't do since he saw her in that dress yesterday._

_He kissed her.  
_

**Chapter 40  
WITH LAYLA AND JASON:**

The second his lips touched hers Layla gasped and pulled away, bringing a shaking hand up to her lips as she slowly backed away from him.

"Oh my God Layla I'm so sorry." He pleaded with her desperately, hoping to God that she wouldn't freak out although he could already see it in her face. "I didn't mean to honestly..I just..."

"It doesn't matter Jase." She mumbled monotonously with a withdrawn, far away look on her face causing Jason to become even more worried.

This was what he had been fearing since he saw her in that dress last night. Although they'd promised to just be friends for the time being Jason had been finding it very difficult to keep his promise to her but last night-seeing her in that dress-had only made things harder (in more ways than one).

It was all he could do for the rest of the night not to touch her, to kiss her and make her his once and for all and now he'd just gone and blown it by kissing her even though he swore that he wouldn't!

"No Layla it's not right! You wanted to wait and be friends for a while and now I've totally messed that up."

She sighed gently and moved closer to him.

"You didn't mess it up Jason-"

"Yes I did." He insisted frantically. "I always do. I mess things up that's what I do."

"Jason-"

"No..no I shouldn't have done it. You asked me to-"

"Jason-"

"And I agreed to-"

"Jason!"

"And it was wrong to do it. I'm so-whoa!"

Bored with being ignored and his continuous ranting Layla had done something about it and swiftly rolled away from him yanking his arm in the process so that she was laying flat on the deck with Jason hovering above her his arms both side of her and his body almost entirely covering hers. The shock was enough to cut him off mid sentence, his senses only coming back to him just in time to stop himself from falling with all his weight on top of her.

"Layla" He gasped quickly looking up to check no one was looking and finding no one."What are you..."

Their snuggling up earlier could just about be explained as close friendship but this was completely different. It was clear in his mind and therefore any one else's with even an ounce of sense that what was going on now was no where near innocent-far from it in fact.

"You know what my favourite part of the movie is?" She whispered in his ear her eyes never leaving his as he stared down at her intently. "When Sky and Sophie are together on the beach before his stag do and just before his mates come on shore and lift him away, he crawls up to her and leans over her just like this..."

Recognition flashed in his eyes and slowly Jason moved closer to her so close that she could hear his heavy breathing and erratic heartbeat keeping in time with hers.

"And he hovers just like this right near her mouth..." Her voice barely above a whisper as Jason's lips hovered mere millimetres away from hers. "And as he leans down he begins to sing..."

"_Don't go wasting your emotions, lay all your love on me_." He whispered before his lips came crashing down on hers and this time she didn't try to fight or run away. This time she knew it was right.

* * *

"Well I don't remember that happening in the movie." She whispered a couple of minutes later when he finally pulled away, slightly shell shocked and out of breath from the intensity of the kiss they had just shared.

He laughed loudly.

"That's because his mates pulled him away before he got that for believe me if it wasn't for that it would've happened."

She giggled slightly before he leaned down to kiss her again briefly, pulling away after a couple of seconds to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, staring at her intently.

"Layla I know that we promised to be friends but..."

She smiled sweetly and leaned up slightly to kiss him again smiling against his lips before pulling away, the smile breaking into a grin when she saw the dazed look on Jason's face.

"So does that mean you've had enough of playing it slow and just being friends?" He asked hopefully.

She looked at him for a second biting her lip before nodding excitedly causing Jason to break out in an enormous grin.

"Good because I've had enough of going slow." He murmured before attacking her lips again this time with more passion.

"You have no idea how hard these last couple of days have been." He muttered between kisses. "Especially when you we're wearing that dress... I mean you were just....wow"

She pulled away from him slightly.

"So you're only with me for my body?" She asked causing all the colour to drain from Jason's face worried that she would change her mind again and leave. He was ready to plea his case and tell her that he wanted to be with her for more than her appearance when her giggling and amused expression gave her away letting him know that she was only joking.

"You know teasing isn't nice." He growled as he moved closer to her, giving her no room to pull away.

"Really?" She smirked up at him her eyebrow raised. "Well you better teach me a lesson then hadn't you."

He smirked back at her and leaned closer, his mouth just millimetres away from hers when-

"AHH!" They screamed quickly jumping apart as a gallon of water landed right on top of them.  
The shock had been so much that Jason had jumped to far and launched himself off the side of the dock, landing in the water with a huge splash. A couple of seconds later he re emerged coughing and spluttering to see a shocked Layla sitting on the deck, with Nate standing behind her holding a huge yellow bucket, grinning happily and looking quite pleased with himself.

"Well look at that it works on horny cats as well as horny brothers!" Nate called out, his grin quickly turning into a frown, as Jason glared up at him from the cold water of the lake.

"What the hell Nate?! That was fucking cold!" Jason shouted, pissed not only at getting caught but at ending up drenched from head to toe. Sure it was hot but not hot enough for him to be fully submerged in ice cold water especially fully clothed and when he had no choice in the matter!

" Yeah well from what I could see you two needed cooling down and don't what the hell me!" Nate snapped back. "I suggest you get out of that lake now, get your ass back up here and pray to God that you're dry enough for me to even consider me letting you back into my car or you'll be walking back to the cabins on your own."

"But-"

"Now Jason!" Nate yelled so loudly that for the first time in his life Jason did something his brother asked him to do without arguing and was out of the water, furiously trying to wring out his clothes before Nate had even finished his sentence.

He might be his little brother but damn he could be scary when he wanted to be!

"How could you two be so stupid?!" He roared the second his brother's feet touched dry land again. "Anyone could've walked in on that then what would you do?"

Jason mumbled something under his breath and Layla looked down at the ground in embarrassment, unable to look her friend in the face.

"God I can't believe you two sometimes!" He groaned as he threw his head back in frustration for a second before looking at them again, a hard look in his eyes. "You're in serious danger Layla!"

She rolled her eyes at his over dramatic reaction. Sure everyone was a little jumpier this morning after last night and it must have been a little unsettling to find them like that but this was crazy!

"Is this about the squirrel again?"

"No this is about the mad ex boyfriend and his psycho sister who want to kill you and here you are out on your own with no one else but this useless waste of space to protect you!"

"I am not a useless waste of space you dumbass!" Jason shot back, still pissed off from having water thrown at him and ending up covered in lake water and now from being insulted by his only brother. He knew that he didn't mean it and that he was just over reacting and getting stressed out like usual but it still didn't stop Jason from getting annoyed by it. "If anyone's useless it's you! Where were you when she ran off?! If it wasn't for me she would have been alone!"

"If it wasn't for you she wouldn't have bites all over her neck. Geez Jase who taught you how to make out? A vampire?"

"Please at least I can get further than a kiss with a girl before bursting into tears!"

"That was once! And it wouldn't have happened if I hadn't bit my own tongue!"

"Guys can we please stay on track here?" Layla pleaded with them but they were having none of it, the two of them preferring to swap insults with each other and completely ignore her rather than actually paying attention.

"Don't start with me Jason! I'm about this far from kicking your ass right now!" He held his index finger and thumb barely a millimetre away from each other as he emphasised just how close he was.

"Really? How close do you think you'll get when I do this?!"

Before anyone could stop him Jason had tackled his brother right over the edge of the dock and into the water.

* * *

"Oh my God!" Layla quickly rushed to the side of the dock anxiously waiting for them to resurface again.

"You dumb fuck!" She heard Nate curse loudly and sighed with relief when she saw her friend's angry face followed by his brother a couple of seconds later. "You know I can't swim good!"

"My bad." Jason said with as much emotion as he could muster-which of course was absolutely none. "I guess it must've slipped my mind."

"Yeah well my hands about to slip upside the back of your head! Hope you like fish Jay Jay cos by the time I've finished with you you'll be sleeping with them!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah Really!"

"Really!"

"Yeah-"

"Guys!" Layla yelled and they stopped bickering with each other too look at her.

"WHAT!" They both yelled her angrily. Her face suddenly hardened and they realised their mistake for yelling at her as she glared angrily at them.

"Alright I've had enough of this shit-get your asses out of the lake right now!" She yelled at them, waiting for them to haul themselves out onto the dock before whacking both of them around the back of the head.

"What was that for?" Nate and Jason yelled at the same time causing Layla to groan. Now she knew why Nate found it so annoying!

"You know exactly what that was for!" She snapped before turning to Jason who was pouting sullenly to himself "You! You bloody idiot! Anything could've happened to him and it would've been your fault! I may have been gone 7 years but I'm pretty sure that if a guy is so scared of water that it takes him half an hour to talk himself into having a bath it is not a good idea to throw him in a whole lake full of it!"

Jason looked down and started muttering something under his breath. Layla would have called him on it but a loud snort of amusement from behind her reminded her of the other person she had a bone to pick with. Slowly she turned around to glare at Nate who was standing behind her grinning like he'd just won a million dollars.

His grin quickly faded though when he realised his snort of amusement had done nothing but catch Layla's attention and now it was his turn to get yelled at.

"You." She hissed, slowly walking towards him, her eyes narrowed in anger. He gulped nervously and began slowly backing away, truly frightened of what she would do to him. Never in his life had he ever been this scared of her and as he retreated he prayed to God that there was nothing nearby that she could use as a weapon. "I'll get to you later-"

"What?!" Jason yelled causing Layla to roll her eyes.

"Why do I get shouted at and he just gets away with it?! It was him who started all this with his stupid bloody yellow bucket!"

"I'll show you stupid bloody yellow bucket!" Nate roared as he lunged towards Jason, almost sending them both off the edge again and starting off another wrestling match between the two of them that Layla had to break up.

"Guys! Can you leave each other alone for like 2 seconds and focus on what's important instead of pissing each other off for once?"

The two of them stopped and stared at her in confusion.

"What could be more important than this?" Jason questioned and Nate nodded in agreement.

"Yeah I mean it's about time some one kicked some sense into him."

Jason growled angrily at his brother's statement and went to lunge for him again but Layla jumped in between the two of them before it could get that far, shooting each of them warning glances that instantly told them to back off and shut up.

They were fine fighting each other but when Layla was involved it was a completely different matter. Not because they were afraid of hurting her but they were afraid of her hurting them. They had taught her well over the years and her ability to play dirty seemed to have only increased in the time they had spent apart. Oh No-there was no way they were gonna get into a fight with her and slowly the two Carter brother's backed away until they were far enough away from each other for Layla to relax a little and drop her gaze.

"Good now we've got over your little spat can we focus on what's important now?" She took their silence and sullen looks as an okay and quickly continued before either one of them could get a word in and start yet another argument.

"What do you mean they want to kill me?" She asked quietly and suddenly the atmosphere turned serious again.

"Kyle showed up at the cabins a little while after you left. He was looking for you."

"Why was he looking for me?"

Nate shrugged a little in a nonchalant way.

"Dunno, to rub it in, to try and get at you more who knows? What I do know is that he ran into Shane instead of you and now Shane's pretty much climbing up the walls to get out and kick his ass."

Jason smorted a little and mumbled under his breath, earning himself a glare from his brother and a series of mumbled curse words and insults which almost saw the two come to blows again if Layla hadn't threatened pain of death on both of them.

Finally the two stopped glaring and Nate continued with his little speech.

"Needless to say Shane was pissed, the argued a little-okay a lot." He amended when he saw the look of disbelief in Layla's eyes. She knew her brother just like she knew her former boyfriend and past experience with both was that they never just argued a little-it was full out war or nothing.

"We're waiting for the bit that involves Layla." Jason said dryly and Nate shot him a look which would kill-if Jason wasn't so used to it by now it might've.

"I was getting there." He snapped glaring at his brother a little longer before turning back to Layla. "Caitlyn and the rest of the gang broke them up before it could get to serious and got Kyle out of there but not before Kyle got the last word."

"What did he say?" Layla whispered quietly although she had a feeling that whatever he was about to say wouldn't come as a surprise-after all she'd been through this all before.

"Layla I-"

"What did he say Nate?"

"He said the next time he sees you...he's gonna finish what he started."

Suddenly raising her eyes off the ground she looked dead into the eyes of her friend and said the one thing that had been playing on her mind since she saw her ex boyfriend and his troublesome sister.

"Meaning the next time he sees me he's going to kill me."


	44. Chapter 41

**A/N: Hey! I'm back and I've finally uploaded something! Yay! Yet agina this was the original version but I wrote ELEVEN versions before I finally realised this one was the best.  
Luckily they gave me inspiration for the next FIVE chapters, FOUR of which are ready and waiting to be uploaded as long as the same thing doesn't happen with them!  
lol I'm really excited about this. I've had writer's block for ages. It's so nice to finally be able to upload something! :P:P:P  
Whatever happens THANK YOU SO MUCH for reading and reviewing! You have no idea how much it means to me :P  
Hope you like it! xoxo :P:P:P:P**

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Chapter 41

Kyle and Casey watched the madness from their hiding place in the forest and grinned evilly to each other as they high fived before turning their attention back to the scene in front of them. They had spent hours the night before trying to think of the perfect plan to get rid of their little pest before stumbling on the best idea of all. Why run around doing all the hard work when you can get someone else to do it for you?

After that everything was pretty much sorted for them. Years of being around Connect 3, their friends and of course LJ had given them plenty of experience. They knew how they acted, how they reacted to situations and most importantly the things they would forget in their madness. Casey, being the most devious out of the two, knew that going straight to the source would do them no good so had firmly put a stop to her brother's plan of finding and disposing of their little pest personally when he suggested it the night before. After all, beating up Layla would only bring them more trouble in the long run especially now that Connect 3 and Caitlyn knew what had happened in the past. Something was stopping them from blabbing at the moment but Casey was as sure as she was a Torres that the second they found out what happened to LJ they would grass Kyle up quicker than they could say his name.

Going to Shane on the other hand would provoke an entirely different reaction, one which would do all the work for them and give the twins the perfect opportunity to get their own back without any proof that it was them other than Shane's accusations, accusations Casey was sure he would not say out loud without any proof.

Observation had shown them that Shane was fiercely protective over this newest member of their group and that he would do anything to protect her although Casey nor her brother could figure out why. One thing was for certain though when it came to LJ he would go to great lengths to protect her from whatever he deemed as a threat. A few well placed remarks, secretive whispers and some out and out threats would set him off; creating a scene which would have the others rushing out of their hidey hole in a panic trying to figure out what was going on. Caitlyn would have no choice but to inform then of what had happened which would just increase the tension amongst them all and of course the need to separate Kyle and Shane from each other. A lame assed attempt to get back into the fight on Kyle's part threw more fuel on the fire so that when they got to the main feature the rest of the gang would fall for it hook, line and sinker.

The main event of course being the death threat.

Of course he hadn't meant it-not directly anyway. No way they would involve them in something as serious as murder but if something was to happen as a result of their actions.....well that couldn't be helped could it?

* * *

"It's working... look." Kyle whispered and Casey watched with satisfaction as the area was soon cleared of bodies and cars all off in search of them and the precious LJ Winters-just like they had expected.

After all this was what they wanted-not to kill LJ but to get the cabins to themselves and what better way to clear an area of bodies than to create the illusion that someone they loved was out there on their own possibly being attacked. They had all been so concerned that the threat was out there waiting to pounce that they didn't realise that the one place they had left unprotected was where the threat was most imminent and now they would all pay the price.

It had taken less than 10 minutes for every member of Connect 3's little "gang" to clear the scene leaving the cabins-specifically the one Connect 3 shared with LJ-completely empty and another couple of minutes for the twins to check that the coast was clear before coming out of the relative safety of the trees and into open space.

It was here were things had a chance of going wrong. The twins had seen their sister go into the other cabin with her friends but hadn't seen her leave leaving only two possible options. 1-She was still there and with the wide open spaces between the two cabins would see them sneaking into her cabin and ask questions, 2-she had left out the back door without them seeing and would come back any time to find them ransacking her cabin. Either way there was a high possibility that the one person they wanted to keep out of this whole mess would be the one who catches them in the act but their hold over their sister was so great they didn't fear getting caught out. After all they would just have to come up with some sort of story to feed her and she would believe them without giving it a second thought. The twins felt a little guilty at even thinking about using their sister in such a way but luckily they made it across the driveway with no trouble and into the house with no hint of their sister or any one else seeing them.

After that everything was so easy it was almost fool proof.

* * *

"LJ is a creature of habit." Casey muttered almost to herself as much as to her brother as they sneaked through the back door and into the kitchen heading straight for the cabinets nearest the sink. "She hates anything being out of place-it drives her crazy. Believe me I shared a locker with her, she's more neurotic than she lets on. Somehow I doubt re locating is going to make her change her habits-a ha!"

She found what she was looking for and turned to her brother with a grin waving the box victoriously like it was the holy grail. In fact to them it probably was. To everyone else it was the little blue box which contained the meds which helped to keep LJ alive.

"You got what I asked for?" She began opening the box and taking out each container, not even bothering to look at them or the name printed in large bold letters **LAYLA J G WINTERS GRAY **and began pouring the contents down the sink as she asked her brother the all important question.  
Their whole scheme relied on his ability to sneak into the medical centre on the main site and get what they needed to make sure this pest was gone forever otherwise all this would have been for nothing.

You see death threats weren't good enough for them. They needed to make sure that whatever happened she would never ever come back and what better way to land her back in hospital. She would be subjected to months of tests at a specialist hospital out of state, put on various drugs and medications that would no doubt make her life a living hell and to top it all off she would have no choice but to leave Shane. After all if there was even a fraction of truth to what she had been saying there was no way that the courts would let her stay in Shane's custody after he had so blatantly disregarded her medical condition and if it was all just a lie Cassie would set it straight and cart her back to that hell hole she called a children's home; never to be seen again.

All in all it was a win/win situation.

"Well...let's just say better hope no one gets sick on site in the next couple of days. The med centre is suspiciously low on medication."

Casey grinned again and turned around to see her brother with an identical grin on his face waving a clear plastic bag full of different types of pills in her face making her grin even more. From here she could recognise at least two kinds which were illegal, another couple which were high end prescription drugs and some heavy duty painkillers mixed in with some harmless vitamins and her grin grew bigger as she thought of the buzz LJ would no doubt be feeling after a couple of days on those.

She reached out to take the bag from him and for a second felt a tiny stab of guilt. After all this girl used to be her best friend-almost like her sister. Hell they would have been sisters or at least sister's in law if everything hadn't gone so wrong. Casey knew for a fact that Kyle was planning to propose to her once she had turned 18 but all that had gone to ruins once LJ started spreading her lies. Casey winced and yanked her hand back as another strong jolt of guilt stabbed her in the chest.

_What if she hadn't been lying?_

Casey had seen herself the changes in her brother's behaviour. His protective, bordering on obsessive behaviour towards her and his sisters whenever it came to other men which only got worse once Mitchie and Shane got married. She practically had to hold him back when Shane announced that he and Mitchie were engaged and when LJ introduced them (eventually) to her foster brothers Kyle had been convinced for months that there was something going on with them. Ryan, the oldest at the home, she could understand given his good looks, closeness with LJ and his age but surely he couldn't have felt threatened by a 6 year old boy let he still talked about Eliot like he was a genuine threat to him.  
Casey had just written it off as LJ's lies making him feel insecure about their relationship but now she wasn't so sure. What if this lie LJ had been spreading about her being Shane's sister had only just fuelled the fire, making him worse and worse until he did lash out? The signs had been there but just because Kyle had a bit of a temper didn't mean he would do anything did it?Up until a couple of months ago she would have thought it was impossible but maybe...just maybe...

* * *

"Hey are you okay?"

"What? Oh yeah..yeah...fine." She trailed off, guiltily averting her gaze to the ground in case he saw the uncertainty in her eyes and questioned her on it.

They stood there in silence for a moment before Casey's gnawing guilt finally got the better of her and she asked the question she had been dying to ask since that little shred of doubt had entered her mind."You're positive this is the right thing to do?"

He sighed deeply and shot her a look that instantly made her feel stupid for even asking.

"Of course it's the right thing to do. Can't you see what she's doing? It wasn't enough for her to be happy with what she had so she created this make believe that she was Shane's sister to try and make out that she's something she's not."

"But what if she's right. I mean-"

"She's not. You know it and I know it. She's sick Casey. She's delusional and somehow she's managed to worm her way into Shane's life and make him believe that she is a good person but we know the truth. We know what a lying manipulative bitch she is and that if she's allowed to continue doing this she'll destroy us all. You don't want that to happen do you?"

"No but-"

"No buts. Mitchie's our sister. We can't continue to let her life under the same roof as someone who has the potential to destroy everything she's ever worked for. By doing this we'll be making sure that LJ gets put back into hospital to get the help she needs and Mitchie and Shane's relationship stays the same. I may not like them together but I'm sure as hell not going to let them break up over some obsessed former girlfriend who thinks that she'll somehow win me back by being the slut who breaks up our sister's marriage."

Casey nodded her head in agreement, any sign of disbelief or guilt vanished as she focused on the reason why they were doing this in the first place. LJ had the potential to destroy their family and she wasn't going to let that happen again. Although things had gotten better since Kyle had gotten out of hospital and got the help he needed things hadn't been the same-their family hadn't been the same-and Casey knew for a fact that if one more thing went wrong her family would be torn apart forever.  
She couldn't let that happen, not after everything she'd done to keep it together-one more little thing wouldn't hurt and if it got rid of their little pest at the same time surely that was the best outcome for everyone. Right?

"Give me the bag." She held out her hand and grabbed the bag off her brother before she changed her mind again.

"That's my girl!" Kyle's face broke into a grin and he punched her lightly on the shoulder before handing her the bag, making his excuses and leaving out the back door.

For a moment Casey was tempted to call him back so that she wouldn't feel so alone or so responsible for what was bound to happen but they had agreed that the best thing for everyone was for Kyle to have as little as possible to do with it.  
The threat he had made earlier would make him suspicious enough and somewhere along the lines it was likely that someone would find out about their past history and sure enough the finger would be pointed at him straight away. Unlike her brother, Casey's fingerprints weren't on file, there had been no official complaint made against her and as far as anyone knew she and LJ were simply not friends any more. No fuss, no bother and most of all no one would connect it to her.

Even if they found out Casey had been involved she was sure she could come up with something to keep her out of trouble but formal complaints had been made against her brother and at least half a dozen people had been witness to him threatening to seriously harm her in the future. Suspicion would (quite rightly) lead them straight to him and Casey couldn't stand to see her brother get in even more trouble than he already was.  
No-this was something only she could do and as she carefully took them out of their plastic packaging and put them in the containers making sure that they were the same colour as the ones that were there before- she prayed to God that everything would work out fine. She'd seen what damage had been created when LJ had stopped taking her pills and dreaded to think of the chaos this little concoction would cause; her conscience not allowing her to think of the consequences of her actions further than getting rid of her former best friend from their lives once and for all.

Deep down Casey wasn't evil. She still loved her best friend but family came first and when her brother was in trouble she would do whatever she could to get him out of it, even if it did end up costing her everything in the process.

"They're just vitamins." She repeated to herself over and over, trying to make herself feel better but all it did was remind her that she was deluding herself. Ignoring the gnawing guilt at the pit of her stomach telling her that this wasn't right, she replaced them back in the box and put the box back in the cupboard without once paying attention to what she was doing or the bottles in her hand.

Maybe if she had she would have seen the name on the label or the picture of a young Shane holding his month old sister stuck on top of the boxes' lid. Maybe, just maybe if she had used her brain instead of listening to her brother she would have noticed all this and realised what she was doing was wrong and that her former best friend had been telling the truth but most of all she might have noticed the figure standing behind her before they called her name and scared the hell out of her.

* * *

"AAHHH!!!"

There was a loud crash as Casey dropped the bottle of cough mix she had taken out earlier during her search for LJ's medicine box to the ground. Wide eyed and shaking she stared at her in horror, the only sound the shattering of glass as it fell to the ground into hundreds of tiny little pieces; leaving a puddle of odd coloured goop on the floor. They held each others eyes for a second, both waiting for the other to make the first move, to speak, before they suddenly sprung into action, attempting to clean up the mess which had caused such a useful distraction.  
After all Casey wasn't looking forward to explaining why she was snooping around when she hadn't even been given permission to come into the cabin let alone help herself to whatever was in Connect 3's medicine cabinet-especially as there was absolutely nothing medically wrong with her.

"God Mitchie I'm so sorry-"

"What where you doing with that anyway?" Mitchie asked as she carefully began picking through the debris, cleaning up what she could and wrapping up the glass to through in the bin later. Why it was in a glass bottle not a plastic one with how clumsy everyone was she didn't know but one thing was for sure this mess was more than enough of an incentive to ensure that it never happened again.  
"You're lucky that was only cough medicine. That could have been anything Casey!"

She couldn't help but scoff a little at her sister's overreacting. Mitchie's passion for medicine had come later than their sister Theresa but she was just as serious which was great when they were patching you up for nothing other than gratitude and a hug but a pain in the ass when they started going on about the seriousness of medicine abuse. Every single time medicine was brought into the house they would start explaining the importance of using it responsibly and as great as that was it got a little boring after you were preached the same thing for everything from blood pressure pills to aspirin.

Her distaste must have shown on her face as suddenly Mitchie's face turned even more serious than it had been before and she fixed her with an unamused glare.

"Casey it's not funny. You could have caused some serious damage not only to yourself but to others as well. Medicine is not something to mess around with-not when people's lives may depend on it."

"It was a bottle of cough mixture Mitch not the magical elixir of life and death."

Mitchie gaze intensified and Casey instantly knew that she had said the wrong thing.

"This time maybe but next time you could cause some serious damage. Shane and LJ, both have medication in that cabinet which could have caused harm to you or to themselves. What would have happened if it was something like that you messed about with instead of cough mixture? Something could have gone seriously wrong and it would have been your fault. Don't you get that?"

Casey unintentionally flinched as a stab of guilt hit her square in the stomach and Mitchie froze. Ever observant, she had caught on to the movement and almost like she knew what was going on she suddenly straightened, headed towards the cupboard and gave it a quick once over. Once she was sure that nothing was out of place and that nothing was missing she muttered something under hear breath then shook her head, almost as if she was trying to clear it of whatever thought had just crossed her mind before turning around and facing her sister again.

"What were you doing with it anyway? You got a cold or something?"

"Something like that." Casey muttered and coughed a little, just convincing enough that it would concern her older sister but not enough that she would instantly see through her lies and question her further. It worked a charm and suddenly Mitchie transformed into caring, protective big sister mode, fussing over her like she was a little child until the phone ringing directed her attention to another matter at hand. It was only then when she picked up the phone, shot her sister a quick look and then left the room that Casey finally gave a sigh of relief.

She had done it and now all she had to do was sit back and wait.


	45. Chapter 42

**A/N: Hey I'm back with a shorter chapter but only because the original was so important and 7 pages long I thought it was best to separate it into two. Hopefully the second will be up soon and you'll like them both. Thanks for reading anf reviewing! xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 42

"I'm sorry Mr Gray but until your brother in law actually does something there's nothing we can do."

Shane groaned in frustration and threw himself back on the sofa. He'd worked his way through his angry mood by scouring the whole camp site for his brother in law thinking of various ways to torture him and had now moved into the stressed part of the process as he listened to the police officer try to explain to him why they couldn't do anything.

"So what you're trying to say is that even though she has a restraining order against him and has filed charges in the past you can't do anything because you can't arrest him until he goes near her?"

"That's the gist of it yeah."

"That's bollocks!" Nate shouted from across the other side of the room before Jason could stop him.  
Caitlyn had taken Layla back to the cabins to calm down a little now that they were sure that Kyle had left before they had to get ready for the party tonight leaving the guys and Brown behind to sort out the mess before Mitchie found out.  
Needless to say Nate and Jason were as pissed off at the whole situation as Shane was only Nate hadn't had as many run ins with the law before so didn't feel the need to hold his tongue.

"Dude!" Jason hissed at his brother pulling him back towards the other side of the room. "You can't say that! He's a _police officer_!"

The police officer chuckled slightly as the youngest member of the band sulked a little before mumbling a quick apology to him.

"Don't worry about it. I've heard much worse." He told them before turning back to Shane to finish explaining to him the situation.  
" As you know we have search your cabin and the surrounding area and have found nothing. Currently we have police checking the area around the main camp site for Mr Torres but as yet he hasn't been spotted.  
We may not be able to arrest him but we're well within our rights to strongly advise him to stick to the terms of his restraining order....remind him that he's being watched very very carefully from now on if you catch my drift.  
In the mean time if you or your sister have any problems call us."

He handed Shane a card with his personal details adding his own personal phone number to the card before leaving with the insistence that he called any time day or night.

"Thanks Officer Dawson." Shane told him sincerely as he led him towards the front door, careful to put the card in his pocket before he lost it. As much as Shane hated to say it he had a feeling that they would be needing that card sometime soon.

"Don't worry about it I have a little sister myself who was in an abusive relationship. It's always difficult to stick to the law when it's your own- it helps to know that there's someone else on your side who understands that."

He smiled slightly at him before saying his goodbyes and leaving the building. Only once he had got into his car and was gone did Shane finally loose control lashing out at the nearest thing he could find.

"Hey I understand that you're pissed but don't take it out on the guitar!" Brown admonished him as he grabbed the now mangled guitar out of his nephew's hands before he wrecked anything else. Placing it far away from him he lead Shane back to the sofa and sat him down before continuing.  
"Now I know this whole situation has got everyone going crazy but we have got to keep calm."

"Keep calm?! Brown he's out there waiting for her!" Nate yelled. He seemed to have taken this to heart more than the others and Brown found himself surprised by how protective the youngest Carter was of his niece as he watched him pace the length of the room with pent up frustration.  
"We can't just sit around here doing nothing!"

"And we won't." Jason stated calmly but firmly yanking his brother back and sitting him down on the sofa. "I know you want to protect her but this isn't helping. So shut up sit down and listen to what I have to say."

Nate didn't want to, he was furious that things had got this far without someone putting a stop to it earlier, but there was something about his brother's voice that made him stop. That and the fact that both he and Shane looked like they were ready to punch him if he didn't.

"I'm listening."

"Good. Now Brown's right we need to keep calm. Layla's falling apart at the seems and if we go off the rails she's gonna lose it completely. We can't let that happen- not again."

Shane frowned in confusion.

"What do you mean again?"

Nate stared at him incredulously.

"Hello?! Did you not see that major melt down she had a couple of days ago?! That was just over her thinking that we were going to leave how do you think she's gonna react when she finally realises that her ex boyfriend is out there and wants to kill her?!"

"It won't come to that." Jason assured his brother calmly, trying to stop him from going completely off his head and creating an even bigger problem for themselves. "As long as she stays out of his way and takes her medication everything will be fine."

"What do you mean take her medication? What's that got to do with anything?"

Jason hesitated, not wanting to say anymore as it dawned on him that Layla hadn't been as open with her brother as he first thought.  
After Camp Fire Jam last night they had all demanded an explanation of where the two of them had been and after some guarded looks between Layla and Shane they had told them everything that had happened that afternoon with the exception of her relationship with Kyle-and now it seems, this.

"That little pill she takes each morning-the white one?It's not to manage her condition-or at least not the one you think."

"What do you mean?"

It's anti anxiety medication. After the attack she thought that he would keep coming back and would have panic attacks-they got worse after the charges we dropped."

"How bad?"

Jason hesitated again.

"She wont tell me." He admitted and Shane let out a little hiss of anger while Nate cursed angrily under his breath, both of them knowing that it must have been bad if she hadn't even told him about it.

"All I know is that she has panic attacks and thinks Kyle's following her if she doesn't take it."

"That rat bastard!" Shane roared at the same time as Nate made a run for the door only to fall flat on his ass as his brother pulled him back.

"I can't believe she didn't tell me it was that bad!"

Jason shrugged a little not quite sure what to say.

"She didn't want to worry you I guess-the same way she doesn't want to worry us about this now and wants to keep everything from Mitchie. Layla's always worrying about every one else and never about herself until it's too late for her to do anything about it. This whole thing could have been sorted with ages ago but she's so damn scared of how it will affect us and if we'll pull another disappearing act that she won't do anything. It's eating her up inside I can tell."

"Then we have to put a stop to it." Shane insisted firmly and Nate let out a little snort of disbelief as he threw his hands up in the air with exasperation.

"That's the point though! She wont let us-not anymore. She's so stubborn she thinks she can handle it all by herself and she can't she just can't."

"You know that and we know that but Layla won't listen. She thinks if she just ignores him for the rest of the summer that he'll just move on and she wont have to do anything about it.  
She doesn't want to risk losing us over this but she can't do anything about it either-so we have to, before it gets too out of hand and there's nothing we can do about it."

"But how? She'll freak if we find him and beat the crap out of him." Nate began his pacing again as he tried to think of a reasonable solution to this whole mess.  
Growing up it had always been him who had looked out for Layla at school given the age gap between them they were together the most out of them all up until they left to go on tour but he couldn't find a way out of this one.  
"If we do anything too obvious Mitchie will find out and if we do anything illegal Shane's little police friend will drop us in it."

Shane glared at him slightly but conceded. Officer Dawson might be on their side but it was his duty to uphold the law, if they did anything or there was even a suspicion of them doing anything they would be up to their necks in it no matter why or who they were.

The four of them sat in silence, even Brown was stumped over what to do, fighting with his feelings as a caring uncle over that of an adult responsible for all the children in his care in trying to come up with a situation where no one would get hurt.

"We just need to go about it another way." Shane muttered to himself, breaking the silence as everyone turned to look at him for explanation. "Layla won't let us to anything which will get us into trouble or risk Mitchie finding out...so we just have to think of something else...something not so obvious..."

"That's great and everything Shane but we're all out of ideas!" Nate snapped at him then like a bolt of lightning a thought hit him.  
"Or maybe not...."


	46. Chapter 43

**Hey I finally got around to uploading this! yay! lol I would have done it sooner but coursework's killing me. Finally I have a little bit more of a break and I'm back to working on TOG a little. Hopefully there will be another update soon-then again I say that every time. Hope you like this one though. thanks for reading and reviewing. xoxo. :P:P:P**

**p.s: sorry if this comes out all messed up for some reason the layout's a little different than usual!**

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Chapter 43

_We dreamers have our ways  
Of facing rainy days  
And somehow we survive_

_We keep the feelings warm _

_Protect them from the storm_

_Until our time arrives_

_Then one day the sun appears_

_And we come shining through the lonely years_

_I made it through the rain_

_I kept my world protected_

_I made it through the rain_

_I kept my point of view_

_I made it through the rain_

_And found myself respected _

_By the others who_

_Got rained on too_

_And made it through...._

"Wow I never had you pegged for a Barry Manilow fan."

Startled by the sudden interruption Layla stopped singing and dropped her guitar to look up and see Nate standing in the doorway, a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as he watched her startled expression.  
"It's the only song I can play properly -I play it sometimes....when I need to feel better..." She admitted hesitantly, somehow feeling embarrassed not only by being caught unexpected but by the fact that she had to explain it to him. They used to know everything about each other-all of them did. It felt so weird having to explain to him something that she had done for years and only just reminded her how much things had changed over the years. A lot of them for the worse.  
"Then carry on."  
Layla fully expected him to turn around and leave the room but instead he came and sat down next to her. Reaching down and grabbing her guitar, he handed it to her and smiled at her encouragingly. She watched him cautiously for a moment, not quite sure what was happening.  
"I could do with feeling a little better myself." He smiled at her sadly again and she finally understood. Nate had always been the one to look out for her when they were at school and the knowledge he wasn't there to help her before was driving him crazy with guilt and anger. She could see it in his eyes and would do anything to make him feel differently, to feel better.

"**When friends are hard to find...**

**And life seems so unkind **

**Sometimes you feel so afraid**

**Just aim beyond the clouds**

**And rise above the crowds**

**And start your own parade...**"

Nate began for her and she smiled at him gratefully before continuing, this time finding extra comfort in hearing his voice as well, in knowing that she wasn't alone.

_'Cause when I chased my fears away_

_That's when I knew I could finally say_

_**I made it through the rain**_

_I kept my world protected_

_**I made it through the rain**_

**I kept my point of view**

_**I made it through the rain **_

_**And found myself respected**_

_**By the others who**_

_**Got rained on too**_

_**And made it through**_

_I made it through the rain_

_I kept my world protected _

**I made it through the rain **

**I kept my point of view**

_I made it through the rain _

_And found myself respected _

_By the others who _

_Got rained on too _

_And made it through....._

The room fell silent as the last note hung in the air and the two turned to look at each other. Slowly Layla dropped the guitar and climbed into her friend's lap hugging him tightly as she whispered the words she had kept bottled up ever since that morning when she last saw him.  
"I'm so glad you're back Natey-I'm scared."  
He hugged her tighter, so tightly that she thought she would break if it wasn't for the fact that she was hanging on to him just as tightly.  
"I'm so so scared..." She kept repeating over and over each time shakier and more vulnerable than the next as it finally dawned on her what was happening. This wasn't some type of joke, or bad dream this was real. Her ex boyfriend who had tormented and abused her was coming back to finish the job and there was nothing that she could do to stop him.  
She felt the tears come to her eyes and her body begin to shake with fear but almost like he knew what was happening Nate suddenly pulled away and held her at arms length so that he could look her straight in the eye. Seeing Layla's watery eyes his grip on her shoulders tightened and his look grew more determined.  
"Now listen to me-that guy will never get near you again. Do you hear me?" He told her fiercely and Layla could do nothing but nod. Fear, worry and sadness was clogging her throat and she was worried that if she spoke a word it would come out as a sob. Sensing this Nate's face softened slightly and he hugged her again. "We're here now, we won't let him hurt you again."  
"You promise?" She whimpered and Nate felt his heart breaking at her sadness and his resolve strengthening.  
"I promise." He swore to her before hugging her one last time and letting her go so that he could stand up.

Brushing himself off for a second he gave her long enough to wipe a couple of stray tears away and compose herself before dragging her to her feet and leading her out of the room.  
"Where are we going?" She asked as he continued to lead her through the maze like hallways of their cabin. Even after staying there for nearly a month she still found the whole thing confusing and after a couple of turns found herself completely lost and unnerved by the idea of being lost in her own home.  
"What's going on?"  
"Well you and Jason had this brilliant idea of having musical jam and my birthday party all on the same day and of course Mitchie found out so now she's in full crazy mode." He waved his hands around manically in the air to illustrate his point as they finally came to a stop outside a door Layla had never seen before.  
From the other side of the door Layla could hear the pounding of the bass and over that the loud excited shriek of her sister in law and felt fear creeping through her system.  
"Guess who she wants to see the most? He grinned at her in perverted amusement and Layla's eyes widened in fear.  
"What?! No I can't go in there not on my own!"  
"Sorry I've got other things to do. Have fun!"

He loudly knocked on the door and disappeared like a flash leaving Layla to stand there on her own, gulping noisily as she heard the sound of feet coming towards her from the other side of the door and Mitchie's voice getting ever louder.  
"I'll get you for this Nate Carter if it's the last thing I do!" She whispered fiercely knowing that although she couldn't see her friend he wouldn't miss an opportunity like this for the world and would be lurking somewhere in the shadows for the show to begin.  
He wasn't disappointed. Within seconds the door flung open and Layla was yanked into the room with a shriek of shock at the suddenness of it.  
"How do you feel about Cher?" Nate heard Mitchie ramble excitedly to her before she slammed the door shut and with a chuckle Nate crept out of his hiding space and back down the hallway, knowing that she would get him back later but enjoying himself immensely.

* * *

"So did you make sure she's somewhere safe?"  
"Well I wouldn't exactly say safe..." Nate smirked to himself as he thought of the tortures Mitchie must be putting Layla and the rest of the girls through. "She's with Mitchie and the girls practising for tonight."  
At the other end of the line, back on the main camp site in Brown's cabin, Shane chuckled but Nate could tell it was forced and almost as soon as it started it ended.  
He sighed.  
"Don't worry Shane. No one's gonna get in there unless they have two X chromosomes. She'll be fine. How are things going down your end?"  
"Still trying to work out the kinks... we hit a few snags but it shouldn't take too long. As long as Jason keeps up his end of the deal and doesn't get distracted by birds or something."  
Nate shook his head sadly, knowing from not so past experience how easily his brother could be distracted by wildlife-especially the feathered and flying kind.  
"He'll come through this time I know it."  
"How can you be so sure?" Shane retorted, knowing as well as Nate did how scatterbrained Jason could be.  
_Because he's in love with your sister _Nate thought but didn't dare say out loud instead telling him that he had confidence in his brother.  
"Well I'm glad you do." Shane grumbled. "He seems to be keeping a lot of secrets from us lately..."  
"You don't know the half of it." Nate mumbled unthinkingly, breathing a sigh of relief when he heard the sound of his brother entering the room on the other end of the line; distracting Shane long enough for him to forget about asking him what he meant.

Nate heard the muttering of voices in the background as Brown, Shane and Jason whispered to each other about something before Nate heard a loud click telling him he had been put on speaker phone.  
"Hey Nate!" Jason called from the other end of the line so loudly that Nate visibly winced and there was a loud round of shushing from all three of them as they tried to get him to be quiet.  
"Dude how many times do we have to tell you-it's on speaker phone you don't need to shout!"  
"Sorry!" He shouted even louder than before and they all began to shush him again.  
"Sorry" He said again, this time quieter but the damage had already been done.

The insistent shushing hadn't been to protect their hearing but rather so that anyone else's attention wouldn't be drawn towards the fact that Jason's voice was booming out from the other end of the phone line when he was supposed to be at the cabins.  
For their plan to work Nate had gone back to the cabins and told Mitchie and Caitlyn that they would all be practising in the games room that way they would never come look and would never know that the others hadn't been there until the job was done and Nate had managed to sneak them back into the cabin undetected.  
Unfortunately Jason had blown it by forgetting to keep his voice down at the exact moment that Mitchie called a bathroom break.

The second the music stopped and he heard the sounds of someone's footsteps faltering outside the door and pausing Nate knew they were busted. He waited for the knock on the door, demanding an explanation for what the hell was going on.  
"Nice going Jay!" He hissed angrily and from the other end of the line he heard the unmistakable sound of Shane's hand connecting with the back of his brother's head. Jason let out a little yelp before muttering a quick sorry just as Nate heard the insistent rapping at the door.  
"I'll call you guys back later." He said glumly as he hung up and opened the door.

* * *

"Why is Jason shouting hello to you and why would he be sorry about it?" Caitlyn tapped her foot impatiently waiting for an answer as Nate did a quick scan of the hallway making sure that no one else was around before pulling her into the room and slamming the door shut behind her.  
"Well?" She demanded look around the room pointedly before turning back to him, her expression telling him everything he needed to know.  
She wasn't impressed.  
"You told Mitchie that you guys were practising for tonight but you're the only one in here. So how come I heard your brother's voice if no one's here and why did you lie?"  
"I can explain-"  
"Well unless they're hiding under the pool table it better be bloody good!" She shrieked angrily and Nate winced knowing he was well and truly caught out. The only thing he could do now was try and limit the damage-and pray to God he didn't stick his foot in it and make the whole thing ten times worse.  
"Okay okay I know you're pissed that I lied especially after I said that I wouldn't lie to you again--"Nate tried to soften the blow but it only made her angrier. So far his plan of keeping her calm didn't seem to be working.  
"Damn right I'm pissed! The only reason I didn't kick your ass out of here after the whole Tess thing was because you swore to me no more secrets!"  
"But this was for a reason!" He pleaded with her. "I didn't do it for me I did it for Layla."

This subdued her a little and she backed off. He let out a sigh of relief that she wasn't going to tear him a new one-at least not yet.  
"Explain."  
He winced again. That was the one thing he could not do no matter how much it would help him out right at that moment.  
"I can't. It's complicated and the less you know the better. All you need to know is that we're doing this for Layla."  
"This is about Kyle isn't it?"  
He nodded slowly. Not wanting to let too much go and getting Caitlyn too involved but he could see from the look on her face that she had pretty much sussed out what they were up to.  
"And the reason why you can't tell me is because it could be illegal and/or Mitchie could find out?"

He hesitated again before sighing in defeat and nodding his head. She cursed loudly.  
_Yep she'd definitely worked it out._ He thought as she swore even louder and threw her hands up in the air in disbelief before turning to glare at him furiously.  
Not only had she worked it out but she was pissed!  
"Shit Nate I hate the bastard as well but doing something that can land you in jail? That's taking it too far-not to mention Shane's already on shaky grounds with the law-"  
"We won't get caught." Nate insisted and Caitlyn shook her head in disbelief. If she had a dime for every time she had heard that before she wouldn't have to work another day in her life. Shane, Nate and Jason were always getting themselves into trouble and promising that it won't happen again except it almost always certainly did.  
"It's true." Nate insisted when he saw the disbelieving look on her face. "As long as you say nothing about the guys not being here and make sure everyone stays in that room until they get back everything will go fine. I promise."  
Caitlyn eyed him suspiciously before sighing in defeat.

"Fine I'll keep them all away but if this all goes wrong..." She shot him a warning look as she left the room telling him everything he needed and he nodded along seriously knowing full well that he would suffer a fate worse than death if this whole thing went under.  
"Nothing will go wrong I swear." He told her, reassuring her as much as himself. After all his track record when it came to this kind of stuff wasn't exactly brilliant. He still had the scars on his ass to prove it.  
"Yeah well it better." She shot back over her shoulder as she walked out of the room. "Because if I have to drag my ass into jail every day to visit you better hope that pregnancy test I just took was negative or I'm gonna make your life a living hell. See ya!"  
She waved and shot him a wink on her way out the door as Nate watched her leave, his face frozen in shock and his jaw falling to the floor.  
"Wait?! What?!"  
But she was already gone, leaving Nate standing there staring after her like a gormless idiot as he tried to process what she had just told him without fainting.

Not that he had much time to do so. She was barely out the door when the phone started ringing again.  
"Yeah?"  
There was silence at the end of the line for a second before he heard the words that made him sigh with relief and fill with anxiety all at the same time.

"It's done."


	47. Chapter 44

**A/N: Hey! Sorry it's taken so long to update. No excuse really but exams and coursework have been crazy the last couple of months. Thank God my college learning is officially over (hopefully!) as today was my last A level Exam!**  
**Yay I'm free! lol!**  
**Anyway hope you like this and hopefully I should update again soon! :P**  
**Thanks for reading, reviewing and putting up with my lack of updates! :P**  
**xoxo**

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Chapter 44

"You do realise that when the guys figure out it was you who filmed them last night and posted it on the Internet they're gonna kill you right?"  
Danny advised his friend Monday morning as they made their way to their regular table. A couple of the other campers from their various classes who they had befriended had already beaten them there and were all chatting excitedly about the new footage of Connect 3 which had suddenly appeared on line last night.  
No one knew where it had come from and although Layla's computer genius had managed to change the time stamp on it to over a month ago and had been able to hide the identity of its source even that wouldn't be enough to stop Shane from figuring out it had been her who'd done it.  
After all it was only the gang, herself and Danny who had been there the other night to see the memorable performance her brother and friend had made playing...wait for it...Penny and Tracey!

It was only then that Layla realised why they had been so against it as Jason quickly informed her the second they set foot on stage that this wasn't the first time Caitlyn and Mitchie had resorted to such measures to punish their husbands for their wrongdoing. From the looks of it they still hadn't got over Tess' little revelations the other week and this was their way of getting their own back.

Layla had almost busted a gut when she saw her brother and Nate walk out in drag and start singing _Without Love _and now so had over half a million other people (and counting) thanks to her inspirational idea to video it and post it on Youtube.  
She hadn't even been up an hour before the phone calls, emails and tv programmes began blaring the news that two thirds of Connect 3 were overnight drag queen legends and the guys had gone off their heads demanding that the video be destroyed and the culprit found.

"I give it a couple of hours tops before they figure out it was you who did it and all hell breaks loose."

"What makes you think it'll take that long? We have vocal class with all three of them in 20 minutes."  
She reminded him with a grin as she bit into her apple. He shook his head at her in disbelief as he poked uninterestingly at his cereal. Breakfast was never his favourite meal of the day but it was made ten times worse by the knowledge that he would get chewed out by LJ's brother in less than an hour for his part in the whole sorry thing.  
After all it had been his camera she'd used and Shane was just dying for an excuse to kick his ass once and for all.

"Seriously sometimes I wonder if you purposely go out of your way to wind them up."  
"What's there to wonder about? My day's not completed unless I wind them up somehow. There was this one time-"  
"Yeah yeah that's great and all but every time you pull off some crazy stunt it's me who gets it in the neck!"  
"Oh come on that was only once!" She defended herself thinking back to that dark couple of days where she had gone completely off the rails with an unsuspecting but complying Danny.  
No matter how many times she had told everyone that he had no idea that she would go off on one like that and it was all her idea they refused to believe her and things had been more than a little tense between them-especially between him and Shane.

"Oh yeah what about last night?" He reminded her pointedly, snapping her out of her thoughts as she turned to look at him questioningly.

Last night had been a revelation on many parts. After the whole drag act Nate had finally cornered Caitlyn into telling him the truth, something which Layla overheard and immediately without thinking had run off and told everyone else about. Caitlyn was a little pissed for a while that everyone knew she was pregnant before she even told them but eventually she got over it and to celebrate they had the drinking session to end all drinking sessions to mark the joyous occasion (with the exception of Caitlyn of course who scowled a little and called them inconsiderate but eventually broke into a smile).  
The down side of this of course was that her reasoning was perfectly clear the next day whereas everyone else apart from the select few who realised what they were doing was stupid looked like the living dead.

* * *

"Ah listen if I came on to you..." She began with her usual reply when faced with this kind of situation after forgetting what happened the night before.  
Nine times out of ten it was usually the right one-judging by the fact that Danny let out an exasperated sigh and threw a grape at her head in response told her this wasn't one of them.  
"God you're a forgetful drunk. Besides you were too busy trying to come on to my brother to pay any attention to me."  
Layla pulled a face and tried not to be sick-difficult when the thought of being any where near his brother made her nauseous. She suddenly pushed her breakfast away, feeling way too sick to even think about eating anything after finding out that she had tried hitting on her friend's sleezeball of a brother.  
"God!" She groaned banging her head off the table then regretting it as a stabbing pain jarred her whole body making her groan even louder.  
"Not only am I a forgetful drunk but I'm a drunk with no taste!"  
Layla wallowed in her own self pity, waiting until the pain in her head had disappeared and she was ready to face the smirking expression of her friend before looking back up again.

"So oh wise one." She mocked, accepting her mistake and moving on-or more precisely back-to the subject which had brought about this unwanted revelation.  
"What else did I do last night which got you into trouble with my lovely brother?"  
"Four words-Moulin Rouge, Sparkling diamonds." He said simply watching her face crumple in confusion before finally figuring out what he was getting at and letting out a loud gasp of shock.  
"Oh No! Please tell me I didn't!"  
He shook his head sadly.  
"You did!"  
"Oh no!"  
She blushed violently, burying her head in her hands as she remembered her rash decision after overhearing a conversation between her brother and Mitchie about her and Danny which caused her to drag her unsuspecting friend on stage.

* * *

It had been a skit her and her "friends" were fans of when they had a little too much to drink and wanted to put on a show for the guys. When she heard what Shane was saying about her and Danny she instantly saw red and went to the one thing sure to kick up a stink with her brother.  
Needless to say Danny had been completely clueless to her intentions and just went along with it.  
Unfortunately he got a little too involved and just as they reached part where Danny reached for her ass Shane roared angrily and charged for him. It was a mere miracle that Danny had moved in time as Shane would have brought him down and beat him to death if he'd caught him. As it was she and Mitchie had to spend the next couple of minutes trying to calm him down and explain it was part of the act as he manically chased Danny down.

"Okay point made." She relented before adding defensively once the blush had lessened enough for her to feel like her face wasn't on fire any more.  
"Besides he started it, suggesting that you and me were more than friends by saying that he thought you were givi-"

She was abruptly cut off by the sight and sound of a police squad car blasting past the windows of the mess hall and coming to a halt outside Brown's cabin.  
Suddenly there was a commotion and a lot of movement as everyone scrabbled up to see what was going on. Never in the history of Camp Rock had their been anything worthy of the police showing up and this was the second time this year!  
As the other campers chatted excitedly to each other about the possibilities-everything from another drugs bust to a murderer on site-Layla felt an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Without thinking pushed her way through the crowds, ignoring the comments and Danny's calls for her to come back as she tried to find out what was going on.

Something about this whole situation just didn't sit right with her.  
Shane had explained to her the other day that there was nothing the police could do unless Kyle came afterher and since then no one had seen or heard from him. Mitchie and Connie had been worried about it all weekend and had been toying with the idea of calling the police and telling him that he had gone missing-maybe that was why there were so many police cars here.

_No._ She told herself firmly.  
_Kyle was always pulling little disappearing acts then coming back like nothing had happened. Besides they were hardly likely to show up in such large numbers, lights flashing, sirens blaring, for a missing 19 year old._

_But what else could it be? The only other problem the camp had had was that catering company running as a drug dealer and that had been..._

Before she even saw it coming she felt a sharp sting to the side of her face as a hand came out of nowhere and slapped her, literally snapping her out of her thoughts.

* * *

Layla gasped with shock and stumbled back, the force of it temporarily stunning her, long enough for whoever had just hit her to grab her by the hair and begin yanking at it, screaming and yelling as she bit scratched and clawed at whatever part of her body she could reach. Layla tried to fight back but found herself unable to move. To frightened to do anything and too shocked to think of anything but the pain which was spreading through her like a wildfire.

Her attacker had managed to get her onto the ground and now had the upper hand; kicking and punching her all over; leaving her with no choice but to protect herself as best as she could and try to get enough control over her thoughts and her body to fight back. After a long moment Layla felt whoever it was being pulled off her and dragged away, kicking screaming and yelling the whole time as Danny quickly rushed up to her and began to check if she was okay.

"You stupid bitch I knew you would fucking do something like this! I hate you I fucking hate you!"  
She screamed and roared, kicking out and resisting the hold of the two police officers who had pulled her off Layla. It was only once Layla could think clearly and Danny had stopped faffing around her enough to let her listen that she finally recognised the voice.

It was Casey.

_But why would she so openly attack her with so many witnesses around? The only reason why she could think she would would be if..._

_no it couldn't be..._

She turned to look at the squad car and sure enough there he was sitting in the back seat, handcuffed and swearing like a mad man as the car sped away. She was right the first time. This _was_ about Kyle!

_But he hadn't done anything yet? Had he?_

* * *

"Are you happy? Are you fucking happy you stupid bitch whore! You did this! He was doing fine until you showed up again!" She screeched at her still fighting to be released as Layla turned to her, stunned beyond belief.  
By now a large crowd had grown and were watching them with avid interest but neither of them cared

"I didn't do anything-" She mumbled, her lips bloody and numb causing her to fumble on her words as she tried to get them out-to explain.  
Danny looked at her worriedly, wondering what the hell was going on, but she ignored him. She had to tell Casey the truth, try and make her ex best friend realise that she wasn't to blame that whatever had happened wasn't her fault but she wouldn't listen.

"LIAR!" She roared incessantly every word she said to her making her angrier and angrier.  
"You teased him and taunted him until he snapped and when he did you got him arrested! This is all your fault you manipulative slut!"  
"I-I didn't do anything Casey. I swear it."  
"LIES! IT'S ALL LIES! THAT'S ALL YOU EVER DO!"  
"I'm not lying!" She shouted back angrily. "I tried okay but they wouldn't do anything! They said he hadn't broken the law so they couldn't arrest him!"  
"Well they fucking well have now haven't they! My brother is going to jail for something he didn't do all because of you!"

With a sudden burst of anger she broke free of the two officers who were holding her back and made a beeline for Layla again, followed by a couple more police officers who had seen what was going on and between them, forcefully restrained her by throwing her into the back of the police car.

Layla watched with bated breath as she heard the police officer explain that Casey was one step away from being arrested and prayed that she wouldn't do anything stupid and land herself into any more trouble.

"Fuck you LJ Winters! I hope you die!" She heard her scream loudly from the back seat of the cop car followed by the sound of the police off her reading her her rights, informing her that she was being arrested for assault and public nuisance before slamming the door on her.

* * *

A couple of seconds later the car she was in sped off in the same direction as the others until there was just the officer who had met her brother the other day, Officer Dawson and another female officer left behind.  
Working efficiently they disbursed the crowd before leading the shell shocked Layla back towards the now empty mess hall and sitting her down on one of the benches.

"Miss Gray-"  
"Winters" She told them monotonously, her head pounding and her lips tingling as the numbness spread through her entire face.  
_Must be from where Casey punched me _she thought as she moved her jaw around a little to try and get rid of the feeling before turning her attention back to the police officers.  
"My name's LJ Winters."  
The two police officers looked at each other cautiously before continuing.  
"Miss _Winters_. No doubt you've got some questions you want answered-"  
"Damn right!" She shouted without thinking, her anger getting the better of her as she finally snapped out of it.  
Not only was she hurt from the kicking she'd just got from her former best friend but her ex boyfriend had just been arrested for no reason and she was as confused as hell. Just being angry just didn't cover it!  
"What the hell is going on? I thought you said that you couldn't arrest him before he did anything to me?"

"Miss Gr- _Winters_. Mr Torres wasn't arrested for breaking the conditions of his restraining order..."

"Then what was he arrested for?"


	48. Chapter 45

**a/n: Here's the next chapter I've had it ready for ages but this is the first time I've been able to update it without freaking out over the fact that I have no other chapters as there is another 2 and a half ready to go! Yay! So hopefully they'll be uploaded soon!**  
**Anyway hope you like this one and thank you for reading and reviewing.**

* * *

**Chapter 45**

"Layla's gonna kill us when she finds out about this." Jason muttered as he set out the chairs for the morning's lesson, wishing more than anything he could go back in time and change what they'd done-or at least arranged it so that he wasn't the first person she saw when she'd found out that they'd posted a video of her on the internet.  
As outgoing as Layla was she'd freaked the other night when someone pulled out a camera and warned that anyone who did anything remotely like taking a picture or video of her would pay for it in the end. The guys had felt a little guilty the next day when they'd sobered up and realised they'd done exactly that but once they worked out that it was Layla who put the videos of them online they didn't feel so bad about it.

Of course it wouldn't kick up as much of a stink as the one she had done seeing as she was still an unknown (but not for long if they had anything to do with it) but it went some of the way towards paying her back for the little stunts she had pulled since she arrived at Camp Rock.

"Well if this is the only thing she kills us for today we'll be lucky." Shane retorted tersely as he finished looking through the sheet music he was planning to give out to their campers that morning.  
His sister's behaviour had been so irratic the past couple of days that Shane was quickly losing his temper. This was the worst she had ever been constantly shifting from angry to happy to tearful at a drop of a hat with such instensity behind every emotion that it was all Shane could do to keep up with her. One minute she would be telling him how glad she was he was back and crying over how happy she was to have a proper family again and the next thing she was throwing things and demanding that he take her back to Sunflower house. He was damn close to doing so as well especially when a couple of seconds later he caught her trying to throw his guitar through the living room window.  
It was only for the fact that Mitchie pointed out that it was probably a "girl problem" which stopped him from biting her head off and insisting that she go to the doctors and get her meds checked because something certainly wasn't right with his baby sister. This just reinforced Mitchie's belief that it was hormonal rather than medical when she kindly pointed out that he'd never been around to experience his sister during this time which had the effect of both freaking him out and making him wince in painful regret at the same time before dropping the subjuect. After all there was certain things he could go his whole life without knowing about his sister and that was definitely one of them.

"Besides she started it by posting that video of us first." He said defensively as he returned to the matter at hand, trying his hardest to forget one of the most disturbing conversations of his life.  
Jason rolled his eyes but couldn't help but concede a little. Even so he felt the need to stick up for her a little even if she wasn't there to appreciate the effort. They'd only been together a couple of days and every romantic moment they'd shared had been in secret but Jason still felt the need to protect the girl that was not only his girlfriend but also his best friend from her brothers' bad temper. He too had noticed her irratic behaviour but had reacted it in a way that was (as always) more mature than Shane's and he felt it his duty to point out how childish his friend was behaving  
"Please you have no idea it was her. You're just saying this because she's all ratty with you and you have no idea how to deal with it without acting like a stroppy ten year old!"  
"I do not!" He muttered sulkilly before realising he'd only gone and proven Jason's point.  
"Besides" He continued, trying to change the subject as he ignored Jason's smug grin "It was either her or Danny and somehow I don't think Danny would be stupid enough to piss me off even more than he already has."  
"He's a good kid Shane." Jason reprimanded him sternly. "Sure he might not have made some great decisions but Layla trusts him and he's always looked out for her. You should cut him some slack."  
"I suppose" Shane grumbled reluctantly before adding fiercely. "But this doesn't mean that I like him. The guy still gives me the creeps."  
"The only one he doesn't creep out is Layla."  
Jason shuddered as he remembered the way that Danny had looked him over the first day they met.  
"That guy will hit on anything with a pulse."

* * *

Shane nodded along in agreement remembering too the time when Layla first introduced him to her friend and he'd instantly taken a dislike to him as he smacked Mitchie's ass while continuing to eye up his sister.  
The thought reminded him of a situation between Nate and a girl when he was the same age and newly single after the yet another one of his and Caitlyn's many break ups. Noticing his absence for the first time that morning Shane began looking around for the other member of their group finally realising the reason why he hadn't voiced his genuine dislike for the guy who was an even worse version of himself at 16 was because he wasn't even in the room with them.

"Hey Jase? Where did Nate disappear to?"  
"Spending the morning following Caitlyn around like a little puppy. He's convinced she'll do something to hurt herself or the baby so he's making sure that she doesn't do anything stupid."  
Shane snorted in amusement. Stopping Caitlyn from getting herself into stupid situations and hurting herself because of it was like trying to world from spinning on its axis or night turning into day.  
"He'll have his work cut out for him then-I caught her sleepwalking last night...she'd already stubbed her toe on a garden gnome and was cussing it out before I got her back to her room."  
"So that's what happened to Norris..." Jason mused, remembering the state of his favourite gnome that morning when he'd woken up and been surprised to find it lying on the floor with half its nose missing.

* * *

"So how long do you think he's gonna be gone before she's sick of him?" Shane asked a couple of minutes later as the made the final preparations before the chaos began for the morning.  
Jason looked down at his watch and made a face. It had been almost two hours since Nate had informed them he was staying with Caitlyn for the day and he'd already lasted a hour and 59 minutes longer than Jason had expected but being his brother Jason gave him the benefit of the doubt.  
"I give it an hour tops. She was already threatening to strangle him with his tie when we were leaving the cabin this morning."  
"Great. That means we're gonna have to try and deal with this lot on our own until he shows up. " Shane grumbled his mood growing even darker at the prospect of spending the rest of his day in the company of a load of screaming teenagers.  
Although he wasn't half the jerk he used to be he hadn't fitted into the whole teaching role as well as the others had and on days like today when he was still feeling the effects of a monster hangover long after the party had ended he liked them even less.

"Oh suck it up." Jason reprimanded him when he saw the look on his friend's face. "They're teenagers not rabid monsters! What's the worst they can do?"

The second the words were out of Jason's mouth he wished he could take them back; knowing in that second that thanks to him anything and everything that could go wrong that day-would.

He was right.

* * *

Moments later the cabin door crashed open and a crowd of chattering teenagers came hurrying in only this time instead of gushing about Shane and Connect 3 they were talking about the scene outside the mess hall earlier.  
Thinking it was just another stupid incident between a couple of girls fighting over a guy like the last time they ignored the whispers of the campers as they made their way though the room making the final preparations. Walking past a group of girls whispering excitedly to each other about the cat fight outside the mess hall that morning Shane rolled his eyes.

_Girls!_  
He huffed loudly, just about to tell them to shut up and start getting ready to sing when he heard something that made him stop in his tracks. Beside him Jason's whole body stiffened and the two of them ever so slightly leaned forward so that they could eavesdrop of their conversation.

"...She just went completely mental and attacked her right there in the middle of the car park!"  
"Oh my God I can't believe I chose this morning to skip breakfast!" Another girl whined before adding excitedly, eager to get the latest gossip. " So what happened? Why did she go for her?"  
"Well apparently LJ, Kyle and Casey all knew each other in the past and from what I could make out LJ and Kyle used to date."  
The other girl gasped again with shock and both Jason and Shane rolled their eyes at her but kept on listening.  
"No freaking way!"  
"Way!" The other girl told her before continuing. "Anyway she comes out and Casey slaps her and starts screaming and yelling at her about it all being her fault that her brother was being arrested and started cussing her out...she called her a slut!"  
"Oh my God!"  
"Well that's not the worst of it..."

Shane and Jason leaned closer to hear the worst of it but they suddenly stopped talking and straightened up, blushing slightly as the sound of the door opening again alerted them to the arrival of Layla and Danny.  
Turning around to look at them Shane and Jason bit back a gasp at the state of her.

* * *

Layla's once perfect hair was now stuck up all over the place and suspiciously less blue indicating that some of the coloured hair extensions she had put in had been viciously yanked out by her former best friend before they had managed to separate the two of them. Not only that but thanks to Casey's frenzied attack there was a large red mark on the side of her face, her lip was cut and there were scratch marks all over her face and arms.  
The whole room which had previously been gossiping about what had happened suddenly fell silent as all eyes turned to look at her.

"Okay nothing to see here people!" Jason shouted after a couple of seconds clapping his hands loudly to catch their attention long enough for Danny to drag Layla away to the back of the room and sit down.  
She swayed a little in her seat before flopping over and cradling her head in her hands as she took in deep breaths of air.  
Jason turned to look at Shane and saw that he had the same look of confusion and concern that he had before returning his attention back to the class who were all watching them like some kind of daytime TV drama.  
"This is a vocal lesson people so how about we use our voices for something other than gossiping huh?"

The class grumbled a little but conceded, taking the sheets off Jason with the songs they would be learning this week and breaking off into little groups to practice.

Even though both of them were dying to make their way over to Layla's group who were practising down the other side of the room it would draw to much suspicion and gossip if they ignored the whole class just for her so casually made their way through the room until they reached her.

Layla and Danny were in a group with three other campers, whispering fiercely to each other as much as they were actually practising for their performance at the end of the lesson. She had now stopped swaying and was sitting up straight in her seat as she whispered to him.  
Her face was still drawn and her skin clammy but there was more colour to it which only emphasised the massive bruise that had already started forming on her face.  
The other three members saw Jason and Shane coming before Layla did and being trusted by her to know her true relationship to the guys had backed away so that they could talk to her in private; dragging Danny along with them when he didn't get the idea.

"No let him stay." Shane stopped them once he heard Danny's protests to stay behind. "Something tells me that he's got something to do with this as well."

Danny shot him a slight glare but said nothing more as the others finally let go of him and walked off to the other side of the room to give them some privacy.

* * *

"What's going on Layla? I heard that you got into some sort of fight with Casey and then you show up here looking like this."  
Shane reached out to touch the side of her face, still bright red from where Casey had hit her and winced when she flinched away from him. It was clear just from the damage done at the moment that he face was going to be a mass of bruises and swelling by the next day  
"What happened Layla?"  
Layla hesitated, not sure how to tell her brother what had happened without him going completely off the handle and screaming bloody murder.  
"Kyle he..."  
"Did he come near you again?" Shane demanded angered that he would even dare think about coming near his sister again.  
"Is that why this happened? Did he try and hurt you?"  
"No he got arrested."

Shane's anger faded and he looked at her in shock and disbelief.  
"Arrested? I thought that they said they couldn't arrest him."  
"That's what I thought as well..." She trailed off slightly as she remembered her conversation with Officer Dawson. "But there he was in the back of the police car being taken back to the station. Needless to say Casey wasn't too happy about it."

"Wait Casey did all this?" Shane stared at her in disbelief. He knew that Casey had taken a swing at her but he figured that Kyle had to have done at least some of the damage to his sister for her not to be able to fully protect herself.  
She nodded slightly but the movement sent shooting pains down her neck and spine.  
"She caught me just as I was coming out of the mess hall."  
She winced as the pain continued and she started rubbing the back of her neck in an attempt to relieve the pain. "I didn't stand a chance."

Shane, Jason and Danny looked at her worriedly before looking at each other.  
She had been acting funny for the last couple of days, getting breathless easily, sleeping a lot and now she'd just let someone attack her without even putting up a fight? Shane and the others had a right to be concerned. This was a girl who prided herself on not letting herself be caught out like that again and now she'd just got a beating so bad that Shane was in two minds to cancel the lesson and take her to the nearest A and E.

* * *

"La La are you alright? You don't look too good."  
"Of course I'm not too good! My ex best friend's just kicked the shit out of me, my ex boyfriend's been arrested and I've got a raging headache! Of course I'm not okay!" She snapped angrily at him before taking a deep calming breath and continuing.  
"I'm sorry I shouldn't have snapped at you like that it's just that I'm not feeling so good and this whole thing with Kyle getting arrested..."  
"Well if he's gonna keep making threats against you then he deserves it." Jason stated firmly and the others all nodded along in agreement apart from Layla who watched him carefully.  
"What?" Jason asked when he caught the look in her eyes and noticed the fact that she wasn't agreeing with them.

She hesitated for a second, still trying to work things out in her mind before answering.  
"Jase? Why did you just say that he'd get arrested for making threats to me?"  
He looked at her confused and turned to look at Shane and Danny both of whom were shooting looks back at him telling him to say something before it was too late.

"Well you just said that..."  
"No I didn't. I said that he had been arrested not what for."  
Behind her Shane's eyes widened and he cursed under his breath as Jason suddenly felt himself break out into a sweat under the pressure of her intense glare.  
"Well what else would he be arrested for? He's already threatened to kill you once why wouldn't he do it a second time?"  
"But he didn't. He was arrested for something else so why would you be so sure that he had made another threat against me?"  
She insisted and both Danny and Shane's eyes widened even further as they looked at her in disbelief.  
Even Jason couldn't contain his shock at the revelation that Kyle hadn't been arrested for harassment and breaking the conditions of his restraining order-although there shock of it was from a completely different reason than Layla thought.

"Then what did he get arrested for?"


	49. Chapter 46

**A/N: Hey. Sorry it took me so long to update again. I meant to within a couple of days of the last update but then I went to see Les Mis and got a little distracted. Nick was very good btw :P They all were but I was really surprised by his voice-it was different but in a good way-a really good way! Lol anyway here's the next chapter. Hope you like it!**

**BTW Sorry if the layout is weird. It's different than it is on my computer and I can't seem to change it! :P****Chapter 46**

* * *

The desk sergeant at Caldwell Police station thought it was his lucky day when the girl of his dreams walked in.  
As a teenager he had lusted over the beauty that was Mitchie Torres and wasn't ashamed to say that he was more than a little upset when he heard that she'd married that jerk from the boy band his sister was crazy about.  
However that didn't stop him from thinking about her even when she gave up singing to go into medicine she was still his perfect woman and he had dreamed of the day when he would get to meet her and woo her with his charm.  
Now the day was finally here and as she made her way towards him, her hair blowing in the breeze, he felt his palms sweating and his pulse thumping as he waited for her to open her mouth and talk to him with that melodic voice he'd fallen in love with when he was 17.

"Where the fuck is my sister?"  
Her voice was so harsh and rough that the officer's face instantly fell and any fantasies he had were shattered.  
Any witty remarks he had planned for this moment went out the window as he tried to process what she was saying while dealing with the fact that his perfect woman wasn't really that perfect after all.  
"Well?" She insisted causing him to sweat even more-this time with a mixture of fear and nerves.  
Up close, looking as scary as she did she was a very intimidating woman.  
"Err...well erm..." He stuttered, hating how high his voice had become and the fact that he was starting to sweat all over the place. It was almost like being back in high school again when he had tried asking out...  
"Hello! Officer..." She paused to try and read his name tag. "Jenkins. I'm sure whatever you were thinking about was very important but right now could you concentrate on your job and tell me where the bloody hell my sister is?"  
"Err...well..er."

"JENKINS!"  
Officer Jenkins let out a high pitched squeal of surprise as he turned to see his commanding officer, Officer Dawson, standing behind him and he didn't look impressed.  
"Y-yes sir." He stuttered addressing the higher ranking officer-after all he was still a rookie and Officer Dawson had been on the force for 14 years.  
"I believe this lady asked you a question or has all those hours locked away in the toilets with last years' copy of bridal magazine made you forget?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly and the rookie's face turned deep red and he muttered something about having to go on break before rushing out of the room.  
The other officer chuckled humorously to himself as Mitchie watched the scene with confusion.

* * *

"My nephew's still a little green so you'll have to excuse him." He explained as he took over in Officer Jenkins' absence.  
"That guy was you're nephew?" Mitchie asked incredulously as she looked the older officer up and down, taking in his appearance and good looks. She bit her lip slightly to stop herself from sighing. She always did like a man in uniform.  
He coughed a little and she blushed slightly, knowing that she'd been caught staring at him a little too long.  
"Sorry it's just you're so and he's so..." She trailed off, not quite sure now to end that sentence without causing offence.

The officer chuckled again and smiled, causing her to blush a little more.  
"Don't worry about it I get what you mean. Normally he's not as bad as that it's just..."  
He trailed off before leaning a little closer and whispering to her in hushed tones just in case anyone else could hear.  
"He has a little bit of a crush on you you see..."  
Mitchie shook her head in understanding and sympathy, feeling sorry for the poor guy and resolving to make it up to him later before remembering that she was the focus of bridal magazine a year ago and quickly changing her mind.

"Oh! Ew okay before I go and file a restraining order against your nephew could you please tell me where my sister is?"  
"Your sister?" He asked slowly, confusion colouring his voice and causing him to frown as Mitchie let out an exasperated sigh of defeat.  
For some reason it was like her sister had suddenly disappeared off the face of the earth. Either that or she was speaking in tongues and no one could understand a single word she meant because from the moment she learned her sister had been dragged off to jail no one seemed to know what the hell she was talking about.  
"Yes my sister. About 5 foot 6, purple streaked hair-answers to the name of Casey Torres?"  
"Oh I know who she is. I just didn't know she was here..." He tailed off as he began searching the names on the custody list. "Ah yes here she is..."

"Well?"  
"Well what?"  
"Aren't you going to release her?"  
Officer Dawson stared at her in surprise-almost like she had asked him if he was about to release a mass murderer rather than an innocent 19 year old girl.  
"Miss Torres-"  
"Mrs." Mitchie corrected him.  
"Okay Mrs Torres-"  
"Actually Mrs Torres is my mother." She corrected him again.  
There was something she particularly hated about people getting her name wrong ever since she was a kid and people used to call her Millie.  
"I'm Mrs Torres Gray. You know because I was Torres and then I got married and now I'm..oh you don't need to know your nephew's got the pictures he can tell you. You know what just call me Mitchie."

He sighed deeply but conceded. Her whole explanation had been too long winded for him to follow any way and he was just glad that they were finally getting somewhere. After 14 years of nothing much at all this case was getting a little bit too dramatic for him.  
"Mitchie. I can't just let your sister go-there's a process, she has to be booked, interviewed, possibly charged. I can't just let her leave because you say so-it's not that simple."  
"Of course it is! She did nothing wrong!"  
"Yes Mitchie she did, I was there, I saw it. I saw her attack another girl for no reason. I even helped to drag her off the poor girl myself and heard Officer Lighton give her a formal warning to behave-obviously she didn't listen to him."  
Unsettled by his honesty, Mitchie faltered for a moment before continuing to plea her sister's innocence.

"Well maybe I should be making a complaint about this Officer Lighton. It's obvious that he has some sort of problem with my sister. Although I don't know why. She's the sweetest person I've ever known."  
"_Sweet?_ I'm sorry Mitchie but I was there. I saw her pull that poor girl's hair out with her bare hands. If I wasn't so busy arresting your brother I would have arrested her myself."

Mitchie froze. Any argument she had in her sister's defence forgotten as she heard about her brothers' incarceration.  
"Wait. What? You mean my brother's here too?" She shook her head in disbelief.  
It was bad enough that they had brought Casey in here for no reason but Kyle too?  
"Okay this has gone on long enough! I don't know what kind of grudge you have against my family but it stops now! I want Kyle and Casey realised and any charges made against them dropped or so help me God I'm gonna sue your ass!"  
"I can't do that." He tried to tell her calmly but nothing could calm her down not now she had got it in her head that her family was being targeted by the police for no reason.  
"Why the hell not? They did nothing wrong! They're good, honest kids not some sort of low life criminals!"

Officer Dawson looked around and saw that they were beginning to draw a crowd in. Not a good thing to do when you were a celebrity in a town swarming with people looking for the latest scoop to sell to the papers.  
"Mrs Torres can you please calm down."  
"No I won't calm down!" She shouted louder than ever, drawing the attention of a couple of other officers in the corner of the room who turned to watch them curiously. Officer Dawson tried to reason with her again in an attempt to calm her down and stop the situation escalating any further and getting her into trouble later on.  
"Argh! What part of this aren't you getting! No I won't shut up and no I won't calm down! You have my brother and sister here for no reason and I want them released right now!"

"Officer Dawson."

* * *

Sam Dawson turned around to see two female officers standing behind him and sighed with relief when he saw that one of them was Sienna Marks- the policewoman who'd been there and talked to the victim that morning. Maybe she would have a better chance of getting through to her or at least could back up his version of events the next time she tried to claim they were victimising her family.

"Is there a problem here?" The other policewoman asked, tapping her fingers warningly against her handcuffs as she shot a pointed look at Mitchie before turning her attention back to Officer Dawson.  
"No. No problem. I was just explaining to Mrs Torres Gray here about her siblings."  
Sienna's eyes widened in recognition of the name not only because of who she was but because of her connection to the current case she and Sam Dawson where working on. Her eyes quickly darted to his telling him that she understood the situation before she turned back to address the officer next to her.  
"Err Debs? I think me and Sam have this covered."

Officer Colt's fingers stopped their tapping as she stared at her colleagues for a moment.  
"Fine." She finally moved back, not knowing what was going on but sensing that the two of them pretty much had it covered-or were handling it as best as they could at least.  
"Only if I was you I'd move this little conversation to another room-somewhere a little more private."  
Her eyes darted to the woman standing in front of her. She'd never been the worlds biggest music fan but living and working next to Camp Rock had taught her a little bit about the who's who of the music biz and this girl was definitely one of them.  
"You may not be is showbiz any more bit that doesn't meant that it's forgotten about you."

* * *

Mitchie's face completely drained of colour.  
_She'd totally forgotten!_  
The press and paparazzi crowded here during the summer months when all the big names in the music business would show up at Camp Rock and to snap the first pic of it's latest star. Things were bound to get worse now that those videos had turned up.  
People would be rushing here just to find out what trouble they got for the next couple of weeks.

"Oh God!" She rid her face in her hands to try and hide her embarrassment "I've made a complete show of myself haven't I?"  
"Well I wouldn't say completely. That guy there isn't-oh wait he is and-hey is that what I think it is? Hey you! No cameras in here!  
Officer Colt stormed off towards the other side of the room to confront the man as Sam and Caylyn gently led Mitchie away.

"I think it's best that we continue this conversation somewhere more private."  
"I don't know why." Mitchie mumbled but allowed herself to be shown into an interview room by the two officers.  
"That guy and everyone in here has already sold their story to whoever will listen.. It'll be all over the news anyway by tomorrow morning so there's not much point in trying to keep it a secret now. Besides there's nothing else to say that hasn't already been said in there so I don't really understand why we need to carry on like this."

The two police officers shared a look similar to that of earlier that morning before sitting down opposite her, neither one quite sure how to go about telling her the truth. After all it was blatantly clear from the way that she had been so quick to defend the action's of her siblings and her complete ignorance to the seriousness of the situation that she had no clue what was going on and neither wanted to be the one to tell her or how she would react to the news.

* * *

"Mrs Grey" Sienna began but Mitchie immediately leapt in to correct her.  
"Mitchie. Please call me Mitchie."  
"Okay _Mitchie_. What exactly do you know about your siblings being arrested?"  
"Nothing"

The police officers stared at her in confusion.  
"What do you mean nothing? You must know something or you wouldn't be here."  
"All I know is a couple of the kids back at Camp Rock were saying that she had been arrested. At first I didn't believe it but when she didn't show up for her first lesson and no one had seen her I thought I'd better come here and check it out for myself."  
"So you have no idea what she's been arrested for?"  
"Not a clue."  
"Or your brother?"  
She shook her head and the two officer's shared a concerned look.

_This woman was more in the dark than they thought._

"Look it this going to take long? It's just that I want to get this mess sorted out before my mum finds out and panics over nothing."  
"Mitchie I'm sorry to tell you this but this isn't nothing. Your brother and sister are in some serious trouble-Kyle especially."  
Mitchie laughed loudly at them, thinking it was all a joke, some elaborate scheme the guys had come up with to get back at her for all the tricks she'd played on them in the past, until she saw they weren't laughing along-in fact they looked very, _very_ concerned.

"Oh come on you expect me to believe that my little brother and sister did something illegal? I mean sure they may not be as angelic as they like me to believe but they've never got as much as a speeding ticket their entire lives! The idea that they would do something worth being locked up over is just ridiculous!"

But still they looked concerned-in fact they looked more serious and worried than they did before at her outburst. Only then did it set in. They'd done something and something deadly serious, so much so that not even she could deny the fact that something was wrong.

"What did they do?" She whispered, her throat suddenly dry at the thought of hearing the horrible things Kyle and Casey had done.  
"Are you sure you want to know?"  
"Just tell me-before I change my mind."  
The two shared another look but continued, knowing it was better to get everything out in the open sooner rather than later.

* * *

"Last week I was called to an incident at the main camp site." Sienna began watching Mitchie's face carefully as she explained, noticing how it scrunched up in confusion at her statement.  
"Last week?...but that was Camp Fire Jam. Nothing happened that night."  
"Mitchie what exactly did you think happened to you brother's car?"  
"He crashed it." Mitchie told them in all honesty-after all that was what she had been led to believe. "he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and crashed it into a tree that's all."  
"No Mitchie that isn't all. Your brother didn't crash his car- it was vandalised."  
"Vandalised? Who would want to wreck my brother's car?"  
"He claims that his ex girlfriend did it then stole items belonging to your sister as an act of revenge against him for their break up several months before hand."  
"No way!" Mitchie gasped, unable to believe all this had gone on without her even knowing. "Well I hope you caught the bitch and charged her! How dare she?"

Sam and Sienna tried not to wince at her choice of words, knowing that when they finished she would regret them.

"Mitchie the charges against your brother's ex girlfriend were dropped."  
"What?" She stared at them incredulously. "This girl smashed up my brother's car and you let her go but arrest him for some stupid little thing. That's bullshit!"  
"Mitchie the charges were dropped against your brother because he agreed to drop the matter and to accept payment for the damages. Your brother and sister are here because that wasn't enough for them."  
"What do you mean?"  
"A couple of days ago I received a phone call saying that your brother had breeched the terms of his restraining order." Officer Dawson took over from Caylyn as he told his part of the story.  
"restraining order?" Mitchie couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her brother was a good kid. He didn't do this hat would require someone to get a restraining order against him.  
She shook her head in denial, the thought that her brother would do something that bad too much for her to handle.  
"No. There must be some kind of mistake."  
"No mistake Mrs Gray. Your brother isn't allowed any contact with his ex girlfriend yet there has been various witness statements made stating that he has not only been in contact with her but has threatened her on numerous occasions.  
The terms of his restraining order state that he isn't to be within a specified distance of her and must attend all mandatory psychiatric appointments until the court or the victim believe his is no longer a danger to the public."

_Danger to the public? Psychiatric appointments? Restraining orders?  
_ All for her little brother who once killed a fly and cried over it for ages? Granted he was only 5 at the time but Mitchie couldn't believe it-not for a moment... but there was something in the police officer's tone of voice, their expressions which stopped her.  
They looked so sincere, so genuine and so sympathetic towards her-poor, gullible, naïve Mitchie- that there was no way they could be lying.  
The she remembered.

She remembered all those times Kyle would look at Shane with murder in his eyes.  
She had just thought that it was his way of looking after her, putting the frighteners on the bad boy pop star who could break his sister's heart so easily but it was more than that. It was such a look of intense hatred-pure and unadulterated that thinking back on it she felt a shiver going down her spine. Shane had tried telling her that her brother was capable of unimaginable things but she wouldn't listen-now it seems like he was right.

Her brother was capable of anything she suddenly realised, she'd just been too blinded by her love for him that she hadn't realised the person he had become.

* * *

"Oh God! How could I be so stupid? They've been lying to me all this time! All this time none of them have said a word about anything! They let me believe that everything was okay, that nothing had happened and all this time he's had a restraining order against him! What the hell did he do?"  
"We can't tell you that." Officer Marks replied, feeling bad for Mitchie and the situation she was in but was unable to do anything about it. "Technically you have nothing to do with the cause of your siblings' arrest and you aren't connected to this case or the past one so we can't tell you anything."  
"Come on you must be able to tell me something! Anything! Please! I think I've been kept in the dark long enough."

Sam and Sienna shared a look, communicating something silently to each other before turning back to face her.  
She was right. After everything she'd just learned and the things she'd yet to the least they could do was shed a little light on the situation.  
"Alright we can't tell you anything specific but I'm sure we could get away with giving you the basics but whatever happens what we tell you doesn't leave this room. Crimes involving minors are treated very seriously, especially those that your siblings were involved in. If it's found out that we've done this for you there will be serious repercussions for all of us-including you. Do you understand?"  
"Completely. I wont say a word." Mitchie promised them, intent on keeping that promise with her last breathe if it meant that she might finally find out the truth.

Sam Dawson opened his mouth to begin then paused.  
"Before we begin-are you sure this is what you want? As wrong as it may seem at the moment maybe it was right keeping this a secret from you. This is a huge can on worms you're opening here-it could get ugly."  
"My family has been lying to me for God knows how long and my innocent little siblings are criminal masterminds in the making. Things can't get much worse." She stated truthfully only to regret her words when she saw the two of them flinch and share a worried look of concern.  
"Or maybe they can." She muttered, her confidence in the whole thing dissolving by the second. But she was determined to finally find out the truth and, fixing a fake smile to her face, leaned towards the officers. "So come on then. Tell me. I'm all ears."

Her fake cheeriness concerned the two of them so much so that Sienna felt so sorry for her that she almost told her that they were wrong that there was nothing they could say just so that she wouldn't get hurt but she couldn't. Something in her gut told her that Mitchie had been left in the dark too long as she deserved to know the truth and it didn't take a genius to realise that Sam was thinking the same thing.

"About a year ago-"

"Say one more word and I'll sue you."


	50. Chapter 47

**a/n: hey! i'm so glad i've got this chapter out (finally!). i've been working on this for ages and it's turned out a way even i wasn't expecting. it was also the reason why i've waited so long to update. i wanted to make sure that it worked before i posted. you'll see what i mean when you get to the end.  
thanks for reading and reviewing. i really hope you like this chapter and i'll try to update again asap!  
xoxo seventeenforeverxoxo**

* * *

Chapter 47

"Mum!" Mitchie exclaimed, jumping at the sound of her mother's voice.  
She quickly turned around and saw her standing in the doorway staring her down just like she always when she wanted Mitchie to know she was in serious trouble.  
Behind her looking just as angry was Officer Colt, the woman who had been with Sam and Sienna.  
Over Connie's shoulder she shot daggers at the three of them instantly making Mitchie feel as if she was a teenager who'd just been caught sneaking out of her bedroom window at night rather than an adult. Taking a quick glance at the other two it was clear they were feeling the same way. After all neither Connie or Officer Colt looked at all impressed with the situation and it didn't take a genius to realise things were going to get ugly for them.

"Officer Dawson, Officer Marks-can I talk to you for a moment?"

The tone of her voice told Mitchie two things.  
Firstly she outranked them in some way and secondly she was pissed-furious actually.  
All of which didn't look good as the two police officers were given their marching orders to leave the room to Mitchie and her mother.

As the left the room Mitchie shot them a sympathetic look, knowing it was her fault they were in this mess to begin with.

"Sorry" She mouthed, knowing that the second the door slammed shut behind them Officer Colt would be ripping the two of them to pieces for what they had done (or were just about to do).

"Mrs Torres feel free to use this room for as long as you need." Officer Colt gave her a quick smile before slamming the door shut behind her, leaving Mitchie and Connie in silence.

* * *

The two watched each other, neither wanting to be the one to break the silence and make the first move.

"What are you doing here Mitchie?" Connie finally asked, the silence becoming too much for her to bare.

"I could ask you the same thing." She responded coolly, not wanted her mother to know how much her sudden appearance had rattled her.

"You know exactly why I'm here!" Connie snapped back as she sat down opposite her daughter and fixed her with an angry glare.  
"I'm here for the same reason that you are. To get your brother and sister out of jail. The only difference is they called me, they didn't call you. So I'll ask you again. Why are you here?"

Mitchie remained silent, deliberating about what to say- whether to answer her mother's question or jump straight on in there and get Connie to ask a few of her own.

"A couple of campers were talking about Casey getting arrested. I did a little digging and found out she was here." Mitchie explained, deciding it was better to get all the small talk out of the way before they moved onto more important matters.  
"I figured I should come down here and try and sort things out."

"You shouldn't be here Mitchie!" Connie insisted angrily.

Mitchie let out a strangled laugh of amusement, anger and betrayal that sent shivers of fear down Connie's spine.

"Why? Because you're afraid I might find something out that I shouldn't?"

"You know nothing about this!"

"I know enough to know that you've been lying to me! All this time you let me believe that everything was fine when really my brother and sister were criminals? How could you do that?"

"We didn't think you'd find out. We thought it would all go away."

"But it didn't you brought it here instead!"

"We didn't know she was here." Connie pleaded, her worst fears coming to life as she felt her daughter pulling away from her, the little girl she had loved and protected disintegrating before her eyes.  
"He was doing better-they both were. We figured that if we didn't tell you then it would be okay, that it wouldn't matter and we could move on and forget about it."

"Well that worked out great didn't it?" She snapped back sarcastically, her anger growing more and more with every word.  
" How could you think that this could just go away, that it could be forgotten like it never happened? It matters mum! It matters to me! It matters to that poor girl he threatened, who felt so intimidated by him that she had to get a _restraining order_ against him! It matters to _her_!"

"We didn't know she would be here!"

"You keep saying that but that doesn't make it magically okay mum!" Mitchie screamed at her, infuriated and hurt by her mother's words and her flippant behaviour, almost like it didn't matter to her at all that this girl's life had been changed forever because of her son's actions-and from the sounds of it Casey had played a part in all this as well.  
The idea that not one but two of her siblings had behaved in such a way shocked Mitchie in a way that she had never experienced in her life; making her both scared and angry at the same time.

"The second you knew that she was here you should have told them both to leave!" Mitchie continued her rant, her anger getting the better of her as she raised out of her chair to pace the room in frustration.  
"But _noooo_! _You_ think you can handle it all on your own without telling anyone! What the hell were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that your brother and sister have as much right to be here as that girl does!" Connie tried to defend her actions to her daughter but all it did was make her angrier.

"That's not the point mum! They shouldn't have been there by law whether you think they deserve to be there is completely irrelevant!"

"But it shouldn't be! They came to Camp Rock for exactly the same reason she did. Just because she was there before them doesn't mean she has the right to stay and they get kicked out!"  
"Yes mum it does. In a situation like that you get them the hell out of there for everyone's sake but you didn't even bother! Instead you put one of our campers in danger even though you had every opportunity not to!  
You let a poor, innocent girl be terrorised, frightened and abused by her worst nightmares! That police officer just told me that Kyle's been making threats against her and Casey-they had to drag her off her to stop her from yanking her hair out with her bare hands!  
How could you let this happen? You should've made them leave the moment you knew she was here but instead you let them stay. You're the reason they're here and that girl got hurt. This is all your fault!"

* * *

The room fell silent and Mitchie instantly felt sorry for what she said.  
Of course it wasn't her mother's fault they were in this situation that was all down to Kyle and Casey but she couldn't help but feel that Connie had played a part in this whole sorry mess. If only she'd sent them packing or at least told them what was happening they could've controlled the situation better but she hadn't and now...

"Well?" Connie demanded as the silence became too much for her to bare. "Are you going to apologise for what you just said to me?"

"No." Mitchie told her with absolute certainty, after all she might have felt bad about what she said but it didn't mean she wasn't right-or at least partially.

Connie stared at her in disbelief, not used to being denied anything by her daughter let alone being told flat out no. She just couldn't believe what she was hearing!

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I said no. Granted I might have been a little harsh saying it was all your fault but you are to blame for what happened here and for that I won't apologise.  
This could all have been avoided if you had just dealt with it before it got this far but you didn't. You let it go on and on and on until Kyle and Casey ended up here and that girl was further traumatised.  
You are their boss and their mother it was your duty to tell them to leave the moment you knew that girl was on site, even if she was just there for a second, you should've told them to leave but you didn't. By law you should've told them to leave and you didn't. That was all your fault no one else's and if you can't accept that it's your problem not mine."

"Mitchie Grace! How dare you speak to me this way!" Connie gasped, astounded and outraged by her daughter's behaviour towards her. "I am your mother!"

"Then bloody well act like it!" She screamed back in her face, causing her to gasp loudly with shock at her daughter's aggression towards her. Never had she seen Mitchie as angry as she was at this moment and Connie never wanted to see anything like that again.

"You've been lying to me all this time!" Mitchie continued, her whole body shaking with anger. "You lied to me, kept me in the dark and let me believe that Kyle and Casey were just a couple of regular kids!"

"They are regular kids!"

"No they aren't! They were involved in a serious crime! One that involved one of my campers, someone I have a duty to protect and you didn't think _once_ to let me know what was going on?  
Or even better! Kicked their asses out of there the second you knew they shouldn't be there but instead you let them stay; knowing that you were putting that girl in harm's way! How could you do such a thing and expect me to forgive you just because you're my _mother_?  
What if someone had done that to me or Theresa or even Kyle and Casey? Would you let them get away with it because they were _someone's mother_?"

"I'm not talking about anyone else I'm talking about you! I am your mother-_yours_! Isn't that enough?"

"No mum it isn't! It will never be enough to excuse what you have done!" Mitchie shouted back at her. The room fell silent.

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Connie said stiffly as the shock of Mitchie's outburst began to wear off.  
Mitchie's face softened slightly at the sound of her mother's voice. She sounded so sad and so contrite that Mitchie almost felt bad for what she had said before she pulled herself together; realising that her words may be harsh but they needed to be said.

"So am I but I can't change the truth." She whispered, unable to look her mother in the eyes when she saw how sad her words had made her. Connie blinked back tears for a second before answering, her voice thick with emotion as she tried her best not to lose control and cry in front of her daughter.

"I understand that and maybe you'll never change your mind about this but who said your version was the truth? You've been so quick to judge me I wonder if you've stopped for a second to think about why I did what I did?  
Fine I made an error letting them stay after everything that happened between the three of them in the past but did you ever consider things from my point of view?"

Mitchie remained silent, knowing that in her rush to condemn her she'd yet to hear her mothers' side of things. Connie looked at her knowingly then began to tell her side of the story, hoping that it would have some effect on her daughter's view of this whole situation before things went too far and Mitchie never forgave her for what she had done.

"When you called me and asked if I would come to Camp Rock I saw it as the perfect opportunity. You've been so busy with everything that's been going on that we barely see you any more and I figured with what had happened with your brother and sister the best thing for them was to spend a little more time with you.  
They miss you so much Mitchie-"

"Don't you dare blame me for this!" She snapped back, furious that Connie would try to guilt trip her this way to take the pressure of her. "I might not have spent all my time at home like I did before I met Shane but that's no excuse for what happened!"

"I'm not saying that I'm just..." Connie sighed deeply as she tried to get her daughter to understand.  
"He's been so much better these past couple of months. He attends therapy regularly, goes to college every day and his grades are excellent. He's so much better than he ever was! It's like he's a completely different person and I'd do anything for him to stay that way.  
This camp-this was the icing on the cake, the thing that would make him the best person he could be and allow him to finally move on with his life.  
When I found out she was here all I could think was about how we'd got so close to getting back to normal that I couldn't bare the thought of it all falling apart again.  
So I told them nothing and allowed them to carry on like nothing was wrong-like things were the way they should be.  
I figured what with the size of that place and with me and Casey watching him everything would be okay- that they'd never bump into each other.  
But they did and suddenly he turned back into that.._monster_...he was before and then there was that whole incident with the car. I knew then that I'd made a mistake but I couldn't send him back home like that! God knows what he would have done!  
So I thought that if I could just keep him with me and keep him away from her he'd realise that it wasn't worth it to go back to the way he was before. I thought that everything would be okay.  
I didn't know that this would happen Mitchie I am so so sorry I never thought something like this would happen! I would never willingly put anyone in a situation like that if I didn't think it would be okay.  
Please Mitchie you have to understand that I never intended any harm to come to her!"

* * *

Mitchie watched her mother silently taking in her genuine look of anguish and remorse before starting.  
"I believe you." Mitchie watched as her mother relaxed slightly before continuing.  
"But that doesn't change what happened-or makes it alright. What you did was wrong and there's nothing you can do or say to make up for that."

Connie's frown deepened and her whole body tensed up again.

"But you can try to find a way of making this better. Nothing can change what happened but we can try and limit the damage-starting with you telling me what they did to land themselves in this place."

"Mitchie..."

"No mum if this is to be resolved I need to know then we can get them out of here and back home before this whole situation gets any worse."

"I can't see how it would get any worse than this." Connie muttered under her breath before continuing with a sigh. She didn't want to tell her daughter this but...

"Okay here it goes. The police received an anonymous tip this morning that your brother was planning to attack his ex girlfriend. He was already on a warning for breaking the terms of his restraining order so the police came around straight away. Only when they got there they found more than they expected."

"How much more?"

Connie shifted a little in her seat, uncomfortable with having to tell her daughter everything after keeping so many secrets from her over the last couple of years.  
"They found some death threats towards her on his bedside table with a knife sitting beside it and...two bags of cannabis and pills stuffed in his sock draw. Kyle did a runner the second they found the drugs-the police caught up with him on the camp site and arrested him.  
That's when Casey attacked her. She knew that he'd been set up and the only person who would gain anything from it would be the ex."

"What makes you so sure he was set up?" Mitchie asked and Connie's eyes widened in shock.

"Mitchie Grace! I know that you've heard some awful things about your brother but never for a second think that he'd resort to drugs! Don't you remember the effect Greg's death had on our family-especially your brother?"

Mitchie instantly felt ashamed knowing her mother was right.  
Kyle and Casey might not be the people she thought they were but there was no way in hell that they would ever connect themselves with drugs after everything they'd been through with Greg, their cousin, who'd died of an overdose at Mitchie's birthday party 3 years ago.  
They'd all been so close especially Greg and Kyle that they all swore the moment they found out that he had died that they would never let the same thing happen to them. Kyle may not be the little brother she thought she knew but she knew enough to be certain that he would never turn to drugs.

"But how could you be sure it was her behind it all?"

"It had to be." Connie insisted firmly.  
"Who else would gain from Kyle being locked up other than her? She'd already tried to get him arrested but the police could only warn him as he hadn't made any serious attempts at hurting her then suddenly they get a call that he's done exactly that and magically find all the evidence in plain sight!  
The knife they found was exactly like the ones we use in the kitchens-anyone could've walked in and taken one of them! And the notes-they were all typed, not handwritten, meaning anyone could've written them and put them and the knife there to make him look guilty. It all makes sense Mitchie- your brother was set up and it was his ex and those friends of hers that did it!"

"That still doesn't explain how the drugs got there." Mitchie insisted as she saw the fatal flaw in her mother's idea.  
"Granted everything you just told me screams "fit up" but if the drugs aren't Kyle's and they don't belong to Casey then how did they get there? Security on the site is so strict you can't get anything in or out of there that even looks slightly dodgy. And security has only gotten tighter since that whole thing with the...Oh my God that's it!"

"That's what?"

"That's how the drugs got there!"  
Seeing her mum's confused expression Mitchie began to explain.  
"Before you arrived there was another catering company working here-only they weren't a real catering company. The people running it were using it as a front to make, sell and distribute drugs using the camp site as a base. Brown found out before it got too far but the cops were always surprised that they were here for almost two weeks and they found nothing when they searched the cabin-_your_ cabin..."

Connie's eyes widened in realisation.

"Kyle must have found them and he was going to hand them in when the police found them in his room! That's it! Mitchie we have to go tell them! They might drop the charges if they realise that the drugs weren't his after all!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Mitchie babbled excitedly, feeling at least a little better that this whole mess between her brother and his ex would be resolved quickly without any more drama.  
No matter what they might have done in the past Mitchie believed her mum when she said that they had changed and she was willing to move on-as long as they got this whole mess sorted out and she finally learned the truth of her brother's past. Leaping out of their seats Mitchie and Connie left the room in search of Sam and Sienna hoping that they could catch before they disappeared so that they could resolve the situation without any more outside involvement.

* * *

"There they are." Mitchie pointed them out across the other side of the room, still being berated by Officer Colt.  
"Now all you need to do is go over there and tell them everything I just told you and explain the whole situation about Kyle's ex setting him up. Once you tell them everything they're sure to take it all into consideration when they come to charging him."

"Me?" Connie looked deeply shocked at the idea. "Surely you'd be better at explaining all this than me. I'm not even sure what the hell I'm talking about."

"Just tell them what I told you-they'll understand." Mitchie hugged her mother quickly before making a move to the door only to be pulled back by an anxious looking Connie.

"Hold on-wait a minute. Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go and track down Kyle's ex and see if I can get her to drop the charges against Kyle and Casey."

"What? No Mitchie no you can't!" Connie insisted frantically tightening her grip on her daughter's arm.

Totally oblivious to her mother's distress Mitchie laughed lightly at the idea. After all their theories could only get them so far. The only way to ensure this was resolved properly was to try and get Kyle's ex to see that they best thing right now was for them to forget this whole sorry mess and go their separate ways.

"Of course I can-it not exactly the hardest thing in the world to do. Besides the sooner I find her and get her to drop the charges the sooner you can get them out and send them back home. It's the best outcome for everyone."

"But you don't even know her name! How are you even going to find her?"

"Mum you and I both know that gossip spreads like wild fire in that place. All I need to do is mention what happened this morning and someone will tell me everything I need to know."

"But, but-" Connie floundered, unable to think what to say next to stop her as her mind went into free-fall.  
She'd been so careful to leave the identity of Kyle's ex a secret in the hope that she would never connect the dots and now Mitchie was going to find out anyway. And there was nothing she could do to stop it even though she tried her best to stop her Mitchie was insistent that she leave and find Kyle's not so mysterious ex girlfriend.

"What's your problem mum? I would've thought you'd be happy about this! Casey and Kyle will go free and this whole situation will be dealt with!" Mitchie insisted, finally picking up on her mother's change of behaviour and realising something was up.

"Mitchie please don't do this." Connie begged, her tone of voice drawing unwanted attention to them as she pleaded with her daughter to stay. "We don't need to get her involved in all this."

"But she's the reason all this started! Maybe if I just went and talked to her..."

"No Mitchie you can't!"

"Why not!" Mitchie shouted angrily pulling herself out of her mother' grasp and moving away from her, throwing her hands in the air out of pure exasperation.  
"She played a part in this too! She antagonised him then called the cops on him when things got out of hand. If I can just get her to see that what she did wasn't right she might drop the charges! Then this whole sorry mess will be over and done with!  
This could help them all get past it and move on with their lives without any more unnecessary pain. Why don't you want that happen?"

"_I __do_!"

"_Then let me do this!_ They all need to move past this and there's no way they can if they continue in this vicious circle."

"But-"

"No Mum I'm going to talk to her and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

With that Mitchie turned and stormed towards the door, ignoring the looks of the people around them and praying to God some paparazzi hound hadn't caught that whole fiasco on tape. Whatever happened Mitchie knew there was nothing that would stop her from finding that girl no matter what her mother said to try and stop her.

Or at least that was what she thought until Connie said the only word she could say that made her freeze and her blood turn cold in her veins. Suddenly it felt like she'd been punched right in the stomach and Mitchie felt herself doubling over, her breath coming out in short gasps as she turned to face her mother.

"What the hell did you just say?"

"Mitchie I-"

"TELL ME! TELL ME WHAT YOU JUST SAID!"

"Mitchie this isn't helping-"

"TELL ME!"

"Oh Sweetie." Connie said almost like a sigh as she saw the distraught look on Mitchie's face and wished now more than ever that she kept her mouth shut.  
However she now knew that was no longer an option and with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes repeated those words that had caused her daughter so much pain.

"It's Layla...Kyle's ex girlfriend is Layla."


	51. Chapter 48

**A/N: Hey. I'm so glad so many people reviewed the last chapter. Quite a few were shocked that Mitchie found out-believe me I was as well. It wasn't supposed to happen until the end but it felt right putting it here. Of course that means by entire plot has changed but that's a good thing...or at least it was until my computer CORRUPTED a whole chapter of it!  
So I figured while I'm writing up the hard copy (again!) and trying to remember the changes I made I'd update the next chapter before my computer decides to delete it!  
Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. As long as I can type it up quick enough and the computer doesn't decide to ruin it again!  
Like usual I don't own anything apart from my own characters and the twisted plot line I've come up with (haven't said that in a while and it kinda has to be said! (:)  
P.S: Thanks for reading and reviewing! I love it!  
xoxo**

* * *

Chapter 48

_Well done Nate less than an hour and you've managed to piss off the woman you've vowed to spend your whole life with.  
_Nate berated himself as he banged his head off the kitchen table in frustration.  
"Damn pregnancy hormones." He grumbled but deep down he knew it was his fault. After all Caitlyn was the most independent person he knew so it didn't come as much of a surprise when she quickly became annoyed with his constant need to follow her around like she was incapable of looking after herself any more.  
"_I'm pregnant not fucking dying."_ She hissed at him before swearing that she'd make sure that it would be the last kid he'd ever have if he even thought about following her around any more. Nate quickly got the message and backed off, allowing her to go back to the camp site on her own without following her like a little puppy-but that still didn't mean that he didn't want to.  
He almost did as well but with Caitlyn's threat still ringing in his ears he thought better of it.  
_Maybe I better hang around here for a while, catch up on my-_

"Where is she?"  
Startled, Nate turned to stare at her in shock. Less than a minute ago he was completely alone and how he was facing an irate looking Mitchie without any idea why she was behaving in such a way.  
"Jeez Mitchie-"  
"Where is she?" She demanded again cutting him off with an edge on her voice that instantly sent alarm bells ringing in Nate's head.  
"If you're looking for Caitlyn she got tired of me an hour ago and-"  
"You know damn well that I'm not looking for Caitlyn." She hissed menacingly and those alarm bells started ringing even louder as Nate felt himself beginning to panic a little at her response.  
"I have no idea what you are talking about-if it's not Caitlyn you're looking for then I can't help you." Nate told her stiffly as he tried to leave only to find that Mitchie was blocking his way out and she showed no signs of moving.  
"Excuse me I have a lesson to get to so..."  
"I'll move. Once you tell me where she is."  
Nate groaned loudly in frustration.  
"I already told you-"  
"Bullshit! You know exactly who and what I am talking about." She hissed at him knowing just by his expression that he knew what was going on even if he wouldn't admit it.  
"How long did you think that you could keep it all hidden from me huh? A couple of weeks? Months? Or maybe in a couple of years time you'll casually bring it up when we're all sitting at the dinner table together?"  
Nate's eyes widened in horror and his face paled.  
"You know don't you?"  
"What that Kyle is Layla's ex boyfriend and that you set him up-yeah I do."

Nate was so shocked he didn't know what to do or say. He'd only thought she knew about Layla not what they had done; he wasn't sure if he could handle both subjects well enough on his own without making things worse for all of them.  
"Tell me Nate. Whose decision was it to plant the knife and the drugs? Yours or hers?"  
Nate didn't think it was possible but her comment had shocked him even more than the previous one.  
"W-what do you mean knife and drugs?"  
"Oh don't try and act all innocent with me! I know one of you planted them so who was it-you or her?"  
"No Mitchie I swear! I know nothing about any knife or any drugs!" Nate told her honestly, shocked that she would think that he would go that far.  
"Then it must have been her." Mitchie insisted causing Nate to panic even more at the idea of her confronting Layla over this.  
"What? Mitchie no she has nothing to do with this! I came up with this whole thing on my own. I planted the death threats in your brother's room and called the police about them. She has no idea-she thinks that there's nothing that can be done. She didn't even want to call the police about it."  
"That's because she wants to taunt him even more." Mitchie seethed angrily, startling Nate with her reaction.  
"You think I don't know she flirted with him that first day he was here? Or that she crashed his car and performed that little skit on stage because she knew it would piss him off? She's a tease Nate a fucking tease!"

Mitchie's instant bond to her sister in law and the fierce protectiveness she had for her had convinced them that she would be sympathetic to Layla's situation when she finally learned to truth but her reaction only went to show that wasn't the case.  
She was angry-and not at her brother and sister but at Layla herself!  
"Surely to God you don't think that's true? Mitchie- Layla would never do something like that!"  
"How do you know?"  
"Because I know Layla!"  
"No you don't! You only _think_ you do! You and the guys are so wrapped up in this idea of what she used to be that you're completely oblivious to who she is-a cheap, manipulative-"  
"Stop right there!" Nate cut her off firmly, his anger rising at the thought of what she was about to say.  
"What? Scared I'll say something you won't like?" She sneered at him, surprised when he didn't flinch away in pain but rather lifted his head to stare her straight in the eye.  
"No I'm afraid you'll say something you'll regret." He told her sincerely.

Of course he would have been upset and angered by what she said but he knew that when Mitchie had calmed down and processed all this it would hurt her the most to know what she was willing to say about Layla.  
At the moment though Mitchie was too angry to see that he was trying to help her and only got angrier at his answer.  
"You know what? I've had enough of you! It's obvious that you're not going to tell me where she is so I guess I'll just have to find out where she is by myself!"

Nate barely had time to register that his way out was clear as he quickly turned to chase Mitchie who was storming off down the hallway towards Layla's room. Without even thinking twice about what she was doing Mitchie barged in and immediately began ransacking the place.  
Nate was stunned.  
"What the hell Mitchie?" He yelled at her as she grabbed a handful of Layla's clothes out of her dresser and began ripping and pulling at them.  
"Let's see how she likes people messing with her stuff for once huh." Mitchie muttered as she tore the pieces of fabric apart all the while ignoring Nate's please for her to stop.

"Please Mitchie stop this! You're angry I get that but this won't solve anything!"  
Nate sighed with relief when after long minutes of helplessness; watching Mitchie destroying Layla's room she finally stopped. His words must have finally gotten through to her as she dropped the half decapitated teddy and turned to look at him.  
"You know what? You're right! None of this is helping but I think I know what might."

* * *

Before Nate knew what was happening she had pushed past him and was running full speed out of the room and down the hallway again.  
Startled by the sudden change of heart it took Nate a while to figure out what had just happened before he went tearing off after her. By the time he had made it out of the room Mitchie was in her car; racing out of the driveway and towards the main camp site.  
Nate swore loudly when he realised where Mitchie was going and raced to his own car in an attempt to beat her there and warn the others only to swear again when he saw the state his car was in.

Obviously Mitchie had had the same thought as him and in an attempt to stop him chasing her she had completely smashed in his windscreen and slashed his front tyres with God only knows what.  
Cursing again, louder than ever before, he kicked the now ruined tyres on his car and raced back into the cabin knowing now that the only way to stop her was to try and warn the others that she was on her way to Camp Rock to confront Layla.

"Hello?"  
Nate sighed with relief when he heard the familiar voice at the other end of the line.  
"Thank God you're there I was so worried-"  
"Nate?"  
"Yeah it's me."  
"Nice to hear from you mate but aren't you supposed to be somewhere right now-say teaching a classroom full of teenagers?"  
"Yes...I mean no...I mean..I cleared it with the guys..."  
"Ah I remember now! How is the beautiful Caitlyn doing?"  
"Fine fine. She got bored with me an hour ago and left but that's not the point. The point is that Mitchie was here and now she's not.  
"And that's important how?"  
"Because she knows. She knows everything about Layla and about Kyle and how we tried setting Kyle up. She's on her way now to confront Layla about it."

Nate heard an involuntary gasp at the other end of the line followed by a low mutter of disbelief then total silence for a moment before Brown finally spoke again.  
"Okay this is what we'll do. I'll find as many of the others as I can and tell them what's going on that way they may be able to stop her before she gets too far.  
You need to get down here ASAP so that the five of you can try and talk this out before things get worse."  
"I can't. Mitchie busted my windscreen and slashed my tyres before she left."  
Brown cursed loudly on the other end of the line and Nate could faintly make out the sound of his pacing as he tried to think about what to do next.  
"Fine stay there and call Shane and Jason. They're on extensions 660 and 658. Tell them what's going on and to be on the look out for Mitchie.  
We can't have this getting any worse than it already is. I'll call you if anything happens."

Brown hung up quickly and Nate was suddenly faced with two of the hardest conversations he had ever had. As Layla's brother and her (secret) boyfriend Nate knew that telling Shane and Jason would be ten times harder than telling anyone else and couldn't even begin to think about how he would tell them or who he would call first.

Realising as Mitchie had done that Layla would be in her lesson with Jason by now Nate figured that was the best place to find her and therefore the one that he should call first. Nate called the extension Brown had given him and as he listened to the dial tone; tried to come up with a way of telling his brother what the hell had just happened.  
"Hello?"  
"_Shane?_" Nate was so shocked at the sound of his best friends' voice that he completely lost track of what he was thinking. "What the hell are you doing answering Jason's phone?"  
"I'm covering for him and Layla while they're at the hospital."

Whatever shock Nate may have felt when he heard Shane's voice was nothing compared to the way he was feeling now.  
"_Hospital? _What the hell do you mean hospital? Who got hurt?"  
"Layla did-Casey heard about Kyle getting arrested and attacked her. She just made it to the cabin to tell us what happened when she collapsed. Jason drove this morning so he's taking her to the hospital-I said I'd cover until they got back."  
"Shit. Is she going to be okay?"  
"I don't know. God you should've seen her Nate! Casey did a right number on her. She's covered in cuts and bruises and her whole face is swollen up like a balloon.  
Whatever happened between them it was enough for her whole body to short circuit or something because she didn't even try and defend herself. Then she's in here racing around like nothing's wrong, telling us what happened and suddenly- _bam!_ She collapsed!"  
"Oh God-"  
"And the most messed up part of all this is that Kyle had drugs and a knife when the police searched his room. What the hell was he doing with them because I didn't put them there neither did Danny or Jason so where did he get them from?"  
"I don't know Shane I was thinking the same thing when Mitchie told me."

Nate heard Shane's breathing falter on the other end of the line and immediately realised his mistake.  
"Wait. Mitchie told you? Meaning that...MITCHIE KNOWS!"  
"Shit! I didn't mean to tell you like this but yeah she knows."  
"How much does she know?"  
"By the sounds of it-everything."  
"By the...what the hell do you mean _"by the sounds of it?"_"  
"I dunno Shane! She's pretty pissed off right now. All she kept screaming about was how we had all lied to her and that she knew about Layla."  
"What else?" He prompted Nate, desperate to know all the details.  
"She started talking about how she knew I was the one behind her brother being arrested and that she knew Layla had something to do with it."  
"But she didn't! Layla has absolutely nothing to do with this!"  
"And I told her that but she wouldn't listen. When she realised I wasn't going to tell her where Layla was she started going crazy. She trashed her room and then she left."  
"Hold on-she trashed Layla's room then she just_ left_? Where the hell did she go?"

There was a pause as Nate tried to find the words to tell his friend when Shane managed to work it out for himself.  
"She's on her way here isn't she?"  
"Yeah-she is."  
"Shit!"  
Shane cursed loudly a couple more times and Nate felt immense sadness for the situation Shane had now found himself in.  
"It's okay. It's fine. Layla's not here-I can deal with it by myself."  
"But-"  
"Just call Jason's cell. He should have a signal if he's still at the hospital. Tell him to take Layla some place safe, somewhere out of town, until all this blows over. She can't be here any more- not when things are like this."  
"But-"  
"Just call him Nate! Tell him...tell him not to come back until this is all sorted out. Tell him under no circumstances is he to bring Layla back here. Understand?"  
"Perfectly." Nate replied but Shane was already gone.

With a sigh Nate began to dial his brother's cell phone number and tried yet again to try and come up with a way of explaining all this without making the situation worse for everyone.  
"1 down 1 more to go." He muttered to himself as he waited for Jason to pick up.  
"Hey-"  
"Oh thank God I thought you'd-"  
"You've reached Jason's phone..."  
Nate cursed loudly and hung up knowing there was no point listening to the rest of his brothers rambling answer phone message. Instead he hit redial and prayed that he answered this time.  
But he didn't. Not that time...or the next...or the one after that...or the one after that.

* * *

After half an hour of listening to his brother's cheerfully pre recorded voice Nate gave up. Jason's inability to answer his phone only meant 3 things.

1: The big idiot had done something to it so that he didn't realise it was ringing or couldn't hear it.

2: They were still in the hospital and he had switched it off or

3: He was near enough to the camp site that he'd completely lost signal again.

The fact that Layla was with him and he would most likely be around people who would immediately realise his phone was ringing (or in Jason's case chirping thanks to his bird craze) ruled out option 1.  
Option 2 also looked unlikely as Jason must've known that Shane would want to keep in contact therefore he would at least have turned his phone on every once in a while to check for missed calls. Not once did Nate talk to his brother which only left one option.  
Option number 3. They were on their way back with absolutely no clue what was waiting for them when they got there.

"I have to warn Shane." Nate realised, darting for the phone only to be distracted by the sound of tyres crunching on the gravel outside.  
He cursed loudly, dropping the phone to race to the window and see who it was. Instantly recognising the car Nate rushed out to try and stop them before they got out but it was too late.

"Dude what was with all the phone calls? I just turned my phone back on and there's like a million of them. What did you do-accidentally sit on your phone again?" Jason asked as he got out and made his way over to the passengers' side to try and get Layla out.  
Now that he was closer to them Nate was surprised she could even breathe let alone move, a fact which became apparent when Jason tried to move her and she breathes raspingly before groaning in pain.  
"Don't move her!" Nate shouted without thinking causing Jason to turn and stare at him in confusion.  
"What do you mean don't move her? I have to move her! She can't stay in the car forever!"  
Jason went to move her again, causing Layla to involuntarily gasp in pain and Nate shouted again.  
"No you can't bring her in here! She can't stay!"  
"What the hell is going on Nate? First with all the calls and the weird looks when we showed up and now this? What's going on?"  
"She knows. Mitchie knows everything and she's on her way to Camp Rock to confront Layla about it. The second she realises she's not there she'll be right back and Layla can't be here when that happens."

There was silence as the two brothers stared at each other for a moment before Jason turned his back on Nate and continued trying to get Layla out of the car. Nate's eyes practically bugged out of their sockets.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Didn't you hear a word I just said to you?"  
"I heard every word you just said but there nothing I can do about it. She's covered in cuts and bruises, has a fractured cheekbone and 3 bruised ribs. The doctors couldn't give her anything for the pain without keeping her in for observation and Layla refused so every little movement has her screaming in pain until she passes out then she would wake up and it would start all over again."  
"But-"  
"No Nate. There's no way that she'll make it back again let alone somewhere out of town without causing some serious damage. She _has _to stay here. We have no other choice."  
"But Mitchie-"  
"We'll just have to deal with her when she gets here. Now are you going to help me out here or not?"

Nate felt uneasy about the whole thing knowing that it went completely against what Shane had asked of him and what he felt was right but helped him brother anyway knowing there really wasn't any other option.  
In fact as Nate helped his brother carry a semi conscious Layla into the cabin he was surprised the hospital even let her out she was that bad and Nate knew what Jason had said was right but that still didn't stop the feeling of dread at the pit of his stomach which only increased the closer they got to the cabin.  
"Whoa where are you going?" Jason asked as Nate began leading them in the direction of Jason's room rather than Layla's "Her room is in the other direction remember?"  
"I know but believe me-right now that's the last place she needs to be."

It was only when they were on their way back to the living room to call Shane that Jason noticed the open door on Layla's bedroom and realised why Nate had been so keen to put her somewhere else. Without even thinking about it he turned down the corridor leading to her room and looked in, gasping in shock at what he saw.  
_No wonder Nate didn't want her in here_ he realised as he took in the mess in front of him. _She'd wake up to her own personal nightmare and they'd never get her to sit still again._

"Mitchie did all this didn't she?" Jason asked although it was fairly obvious that she did. After all she was the only one who wasn't currently behind bars who'd even think of doing such a thing.  
"Yeah she did." Nate sighed sadly the destruction she had caused seeming so much worse now that he could see the extent of the damage.  
In the few minutes she'd been in there she'd purposely destroyed some of Layla's favourite clothes, smashed in her mirror with her CD player and destroyed various prized possessions-one of which Nate noticed was a bear that Layla's mum had given her.  
Out of everything Nate expected that would hurt her the most.  
"Why? Why would she do this?" Jason looked to his brother in the hope that he'd shed a little light on the situation only to find that he was as much in the dark as he was.  
"I don't know. She was going on about how it was time that someone destroyed something of hers so I can only assume that she found out about the car and decided to retaliate."  
"But _why_? Yesterday Mitchie would've done anything for Layla no matter what and now...her feelings couldn't have changed that quickly. Could they?"  
"I don't know Jason but one thing's for sure. Layla's going to be devastated when she finds out what has happened."

"No she won't." Jason responded firmly as he shot his brother a look of determination. "She won't be devastated because we would've dealt with it by then."  
"Jason-"  
"No Nate we caused this so we have to fix it!"  
"But it was our meddling in things that weren't a business that started this all to begin with! How is sticking our noses in again going to help?"  
"It's going to help because we're the ones who meddled don't you see that? _We_ called the police, _we_ planted the evidence and _we_ set Kyle up! If we explain all that to Mitchie and tell her why I'm sure she'll understand or at least see things from our point of view."  
"Fine-but that still doesn't solve this whole situation with Layla."  
"Seriously Nate do you think Mitchie would be anywhere near as angry as she is right now if it wasn't because if Kyle and Casey getting arrested?"  
"Well-"  
"Exactly! So once we get all that sorted out the two of them can sit down and talk about it calmly. We just have to make sure that Mitchie has cooled down a little and that we've explained everything to her before that happens-that's all."

Nate nodded in agreement. Now Jason had finally filled in the blanks things were beginning to make sense and he couldn't help but see the logic and (he believed) Mitchie would too. Mitchie was a rational person who was acting irrationally and Nate was sure that once she'd calmed down enough and thought about this clearly she would realise that her reaction was the wrong one.

Unfortunately while Nate was coming to this conclusion fate had other plans.

The two of them were so concerned about Layla and what to do when Mitchie arrived that they had missed Ella's frantic phone call warning them that Mitchie was on her way back to the cabins. In fact they were so caught up in there thoughts that they didn't hear the crunching of tyres on the driveway outside or even noticed the Mitchie's familiar figure sneaking through the back door and head down the hallway...and straight into the room where Layla was sleeping.


	52. Chapter 49

A/N: Sorry for the delay it took longer for me to write everything up than I thought then I got writer's block. Dunno if I've fully gotten over it yet but I've written enough to feel happy uploading this so I really hope you like it. It's a little different from other chapters and I really hope you like it.  
Thank you to everyone who had read and reviewed the other gray. It really means a lot to me. :D:D:D:D  
P.S: Sorry if the laylout of this chapter is a little weird for some reason it isn't set out the same way it is on my computer. Sorry!

* * *

Chapter 49

**"_LJ there's someone I want you to meet."_**

**_Grabbing her friends' hand Casey led her through the mass of people chatting excitedly about their latest production until she came to a stop in front of what LJ's could only describe as the most gorgeous man on earth.  
_****"_LJ this is my brother."  
_****_LJ's jaw almost dropped to the floor.  
_****"_Y-your brother?"  
_"_Why? Is it so hard to believe that someone like him could be related to me?"  
_"_What? No! It's just...you two don't look very much alike."  
_****_Casey's brother smiled at her and LJ could feel her knees go weak.  
_****"_Don't worry about it. You're not the first person who's said that. I actually look a lot like our older sister Mitchie..."_**

* * *

From the other end of the hallway Mitchie could hear Nate and Jason talking to each other as she slipped into the room nearest to her and shut the door behind her.  
Mitchie waited for a second to see if they had noticed before locking the door and turning to stare at the girl on the bed.  
Any other day the sight of Layla covered in so many cuts and bruises and clearly suffering for them would've broken her heart but not today.  
Today she felt nothing but hatred for her.  
As Mitchie watched her sister in law, waiting for her to wake up, she looked around the room she was in and laughed humourlessly.  
"Should've known you'd end up in Jason's bed sooner rather than later." She hissed bitterly just as Layla's eyes began to flicker open.

Cautiously, as to not startle her into screaming and alerting the others before Mitchie got the chance to talk, she made her way towards the head of the bed where Layla was still struggling to keep her eyes open.  
As Mitchie lent down and stroked the side of her face her eyes suddenly snapped open. Turning slightly to see who it was Layla relaxed when she saw it was only Mitchie...but then she saw her eyes. Those once kind eyes now burned with hatred and anger towards her.  
Any love that used to be there was replaced with something else, something Layla never wanted to see again.  
Right at that moment there was nothing that could scare Layla more than the look in Mitchie's eyes because right at that moment her eyes looked exactly like Kyle's.

Recoiling in fear Layla scurried up the bed in an attempt to escape her as she opened her mouth to scream out for help but Mitchie covered her mouth with her hand before she had the chance to do so.  
"Ah ah! I wouldn't do that if I was you. See you and me have a lot to talk about."  
But before either of them had a chance to do anything Layla began to see spots in front of her eyes and suddenly everything went dark again.

* * *

**"_LJ wait up!"_**

**_LJ stopped at the sound of her name and blushed when she realised who was calling her._**

**"_Kyle? What's wrong?"  
_"_Nothing. I just..." He shuffled nervously for a moment as he stared down at his feet for a moment before turning his attention back to her.  
It was only now that he was looking at her that LJ realised now badly he was sweating.  
_"_Are you okay?" Concern coloured her voice as she leaned forward to check his temperature. Kyle immediately moved away from her touch and averted his gaze._**

**"_I'm fine! I'm just..."  
_"_Are you sure?It's just that there's this-"  
_"_I'M FINE! Shit! LJ! Can't you just shut up and listen for once?" He snapped viciously and LJ immediately flinched at the words. _**

**_Pulling her hand back she straightened up and turned to leave before Kyle realised how hurt she had been by his words. __Truth was in the couple of months she had known him and they had been casually dating he'd never raised his voice to her at it came as a great shock to her that he would do so now._**

**"_Fine-if you're going to be that way." She replied stiffly, trying hard not to let her emotions shows as she stormed away from him.  
Only she didn't get that far. A couple of moments later she felt his hand on her arm and gasped on shock.  
__Suddenly cared of what he might do LJ ripped her arm out of his grasp and turned to face him._**

**"**_**What do you want Kyle?" She snapped at him, wrapping her arms protectively around her torso and praying to God that her voice didn't give away how shaken she really was.**  
_**_Startled by her reaction Kyle seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say.  
_"_I just wanted to tell you something that's all." He murmured softly but Layla still remained guarded. It was then that Kyle realised and his face paled in horror.  
_"_Oh God you're not scared of me are you? Because of what happened back there? Oh God you are!" He realised when she still hadn't said anything.  
"Shit LJ I swear I never meant to scare you like that! You must know that I would never hurt you..."_**

* * *

"You know you really have to stop doing that. It makes talking _really_ difficult."

Disorientated and confused it took Layla a moment to realise what was going on.

"Kyle?"  
"Guess again sweetie."  
"Mitchie?" Layla tried to shake off the last of the fogginess that remained as she turned her attention to her sister in law."What's the matter? What's wrong?"  
"You." She replied ignoring the way that Layla flinched away in fact she quite enjoyed it. Leaning closer to her she whispered in her ear.  
"I know all about you LJ Winters. I know all your secrets."  
A shudder went down Layla's spine at her words and Mitchie smirked at her, satisfied by the reaction her words had caused.  
"You didn't think I'd find out did you? You thought all your little lies would work but they didn't. I could see through them all-the same way as I can see through you."  
"Mitchie I swear I'm not lying to you! I never have!"  
"Then what was that the other day if not lying?"  
"I don't understand. I never said anything. I didn't lie I swear it!"  
"Then why did you tell me that you barely knew them when it's clearly obvious you knew then a damn sight better than you let on. I know what happened Layla! How could you stand there and tell me that you barely knew each other even though it was far from the truth! If that's not a lie I don't know what is!"

"It wasn't a lie! I told you the truth Mitchie! Do you really think that I would've stuck around your brother that long if I knew the kind of person he really was? Same thing goes for Casey. Do you think I would have stuck around with her for so long if I had realised what she would do to me?"  
Mitchie's eyes flashed with pure unadulterated anger and Layla instantly regretted what she had said.  
"Don't you dare blame them for all this! This is your fault! My family were happy! My brother and sister were good, honest people until you showed up spreading your poison."  
"_Me? _How was this all my fault? _They_ started this! Kyle was the one who abused me and Casey blackmailed me just so that he wouldn't get into trouble! I didn't do any of this it was all them!"  
"But you caused it didn't you?" Mitchie hissed.  
"You think I don't know what you did? Kyle told me everything. How you sneaked around behind his back to see other guys-strung him along like some fool and when they got sick of you and kicked you out on the streets like the trash you are you blamed him for what happened."

Layla's eyes widened in shock and horror at what she had just heard.  
"_What? _No that's not true! I never cheated on your brother! It was Kyle who cheated on me with Kira from the cheer leading squad and God knows who else! He had been ever since-"  
"What? Ever since you told him what a liar you were? How you hid your past from them all? Didn't even trust them enough to tell them your real name? No wonder he cheated on you who would want some lying cheating whore like you!"  
Layla gasped as tears came to her eyes.  
"You don't mean that!"  
"Oh I mean every word. You deserved whatever you got!If it wasn't for all your lying and sneaking around none of this would've happened. You're the reason why Kyle and Casey are the way they it wasn't for you they would still be living normal, regular lives rather than sitting in a jail cell right now for something you did!  
You caused that! You and your poisonous lies! You broke their hearts and their souls! You sucked the life out of them just like everyone else you come in contact with and turn them into monsters! You're a leech, a parasite-"  
"Stop it." Layla whispered tearfully, her voice shaking as Mitchie's words cut through her like a knife.

But Mitchie enjoyed her pain too much to listen to her words.  
"You feed of others then turn of them when you've had enough. You're nothing but a lying, manipulative bitch who used whoever and whatever she can to-"  
"Stop it!" Layla tried again more forcefully this time as she felt the tears coursing down her face and her chest tightening painfully in fear.  
But again Mitchie refused to listen to her.  
"It makes me sick to even look at you! No wonder my brother-"  
"STOP IT! JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Layla screamed out at the top her lungs, the effort of it causing her to lose her breath but it had the desired effect.  
Mitchie stopped talking and there was no sound for a moment apart from the sound of Layla's laboured breathing.  
"Please." She gasped out once she had caught her breath again although the action made her lungs and ribs burn as if her whole chest was on fire.  
"Please Mitchie stop this! You're angry I get that but this won't solve anything!"

Having moved away from her sister in law to angrily pace the length of Jason's bedroom Mitchie stilled at her words and let out a spine chilling laugh as she turned to look at Layla with a frightening grin on her face.  
"You know you're the second person today to tell me that and as much as it pains me to say it-you're right.  
This solves nothing-but I think I know what might..."


	53. Chapter 50

**Hey: I know I know it's been ages since I've updated but things have been a little hectic atm. Hopefully you'll like this chapter though. Even more so I hope it's the right one. For some reason this chapter and the next one weren't saved properly but the one after that one was. Weird!**  
**Anyway hope you like it and sorry for taking so long.**  
**Thanks for reading and reviewing-hope you like it! :P**  
**Things are starting to get a little crazy!**

* * *

Chapter 50

The second they heard it they knew something was terribly wrong. The sound they heard coming from Jason's room was so horrible, so gut wrenchingly painful that they immediately raced towards the source of it.  
The feeling of dread in the pit of their stomachs only intensified when they saw the closed door of Jason's room.  
"I thought I told you to leave it open!" Nate hissed.  
"I did!" His brother hissed back pulling on the handle to open the door only to find it had been locked from the other side.  
"What the...? How did she...?"  
It was only when they heard the muffled sound of raised voices on the other side of the door that they realised.

"Mitchie!" They gasped at the same time knowing without a shadow of a doubt that it was her in that room with Layla.  
Angered, Jason immediately began pounding on the door of his room, trying to get Mitchie's attention.  
"Mitchie! Mitchie I know you can hear me! Whatever you're doing in there stop it right now!"  
The only reply he got was a scream of pure fear from Layla which sent chills down both their spines followed by more muffled (yet raised) voices.  
Jason pounded harder on the door and demanded Mitchie open up but all it did was make her angrier and made Layla scream louder as Mitchie continued to inflict her anger on her.

Realising his brother's actions were only making the situation worse Nate yanked him away from the door and forcefully dragged him back down the hallway until they were far enough away that Mitchie could no longer hear them.  
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Mitchie is going ape shit in there!"  
"Yeah and you banging on the door like a maniac and threatening her is only making things worse! If you thought about it for a moment you'd realise that you're only making her angrier and that she's taking her frustration out on Layla!"  
Jason stopped struggling and cursed loudly, realising his brother was right.  
"Fine. But we can't just leave her in there!"  
"I'm not planning to. That's why you have to go and call Shane. Tell him to stop whatever he's doing, grab Danny and get his ass up here ASAP. If anyone can get through to Mitchie it will be him."  
"What about Danny? Why does he have to be here?"  
Nate grimaced.  
"Something tells me when Mitchie's finished in there Layla will want him more than any of us."

Jason's face paled as he too realised the vindictive things Mitchie would be telling Layla right at that moment.  
Whatever amends they may have made these last couple of weeks would count for nothing he realised as he nodded his head slightly in understanding before doing what he was told and heading back into the living room to call Shane.  
Nate watched sadly as he watched his brother disappearing out of sight before turning around and heading back towards Jason's room, determined to talk some sense into Mitchie and stopping this whole thing before it got too far.  
Coming to a stop in front of the heavy oak door of his brother's room Nate took a deep breath to calm himself before knocking.

"Mitchie?" He asked softly, waiting for some kind of reaction before continuing. On the other side of the door he could still hear voices but his interruption hadn't caused any screaming or shouting from either Mitchie or Layla. He took this as a good sign and carried on.  
"Mitchie I understand how you feel-"  
"You understand nothing!" She yelled back and Layla screamed again causing Nate to feel even more concerned. However he also felt relief.  
This was the first time since they tried talking to her that she had actually answered back and Nate couldn't help but feel like she's finally calmed down enough to listen to them. Now Nate just had to make her see that what she was doing wasn't right without making her any angrier than she already was.  
"I realise that the situation isn't the same but I do know what you're going through."  
"Why? Have you ever found out that all your friends and family have been lying to you and that your entire life has been ruined by some cheap little whore?"

Layla screamed again and Nate had to ball up his fists in an attempt to restrain himself and try to bust the door down so that he could strangle Mitchie for what she had said and done to Layla.  
"No." He managed to get out through gritted teeth, the whole "whore" comment making him angrier than hell  
" But I do know what it feels like to be lied to...to not be able to trust those who supposedly love you...to feel like you're no longer in control of your own life."  
Pressed up against the door Nate heard Mitchie's gasp and knew that he'd gotten through to her.  
"How do you know that?"  
He sighed deeply, feeling a slight twinge of sadness for the situation his friend was in.  
"Because you and me are so alike Mitchie. We're rational people. We like to be able to explain everything, to understand everything and control everything. When we can't do that we feel lost, helpless and angry with the situation we're in. I get that's how you're feeling-really I do. I felt the same way about my family for a while."  
"What happened to me is hardly the same thing that happened to you."  
"No because at the end of all this you still have your parents." He snapped back, feeling his temper rise as they strayed into territory he wasn't comfortable with.  
However he knew that the last thing he should do was to get into an argument with her when they were so close to making a breakthrough so held his tongue.  
"Not that I'm belittling what happened to you in any way." He added, hoping that he hadn't blown his chances with his rather rash (even if it was true) comment.  
"And you're right the situation you are in is different but the feelings are the same."

There was complete silence and Nate feared that he had blown his chances of reasoning with her completely.  
"How?" She finally replied and Nate sighed with relief knowing he still had a chance of getting through to her. "How do you know that I feel the same way?"  
"Because I could see it in your eyes. I could see how angry and lost you were and I knew that you felt the same way I did when I lost my parents." Nate paused, unsure if he could go on. Then he heard Layla's laboured breathing on the other side of the door and realised he had no other choice.

"When they died I was still a kid. I didn't really understand what it all meant and for a long while I went around like nothing happened. My parents were always disappearing on business trips so I was used to them being gone and it just being me, Jason and Sandy.  
Then one day it hit me. They weren't coming back. They weren't away on some business trip, they were dead and there was nothing that could ever bring them back.  
In that moment it felt like my whole life had disappeared! Everything I'd ever known had changed and I didn't like it. I wanted my old life back, the one where I still had parents like everyone else to look after me rather than my big brother and a sister I barely knew.  
I wanted the life I had where everything made sense and I didn't know anything about death or what it could do to you. But I couldn't and God did that piss me off!  
Then Jason just went into complete shut down. What you saw a couple of weeks ago when Layla first showed up was _nothing_ compared to what he can do and I didn't know how to deal with it.  
Jason had looked out for me my whole life and when I needed him the most he turned into this...I can't even explain it but he changed. He changed into this person that I didn't even recognise.  
Then Sandy and her boyfriend moved in and started acting like they were my parents, always telling me what to do and how to act even though they barely knew me! It bugged the hell out of me every single day until one day- I snapped."

"What did you do?" Mitchie whispered from the other side of the door and Nate suddenly felt deeply ashamed as he relived that dark period of his life again.  
"I hit her." He whispered back, admitting it out loud for the first time to someone else who wasn't in the apartment that day.  
Not even Shane knew what had happened that day and they had been friends for 15 years.

"She kept trying to act like my mum, telling me what I should and shouldn't do all the time and all I kept thinking was she's not my mum, she shouldn't be telling me what to do, only mums can tell their sons what to do not sisters.  
She hadn't lived at home since she was 18 so she was long moved out and had started her own life before I was born so I hardly knew her but she was always going around acting like she knew what was best for me.  
One day it got too much and I snapped. I screamed the most vile and vicious things at her before I smacked her around the face...that still didn't stop her so I punched her over and over again until Jason and Mark finally pulled me off her."  
"Then what happened?"  
"I cried." He told her honestly, not ashamed to let her know how sorry he was for what he had done.  
"I saw what I did to her and I cried. God Mitchie I cried so much I didn't think I would ever stop."  
"You're parents had just died and you were only a child. That kind of reaction is understandable."  
"It wasn't just that" He whispered back to her. "Don't get me wrong I was devastated by my parents' death but what I had done...it horrified me Mitchie! I was so wrapped up in all that hate and anger...all that helplessness... that I forgot the most important thing of all."  
"What?"  
"That what she did was out of love not hate. She only did what she thought was right because she loved me but I was too blinded by anger to see it. God there's not a time when I don't look back on that moment and wish I had done things differently...that I had talked to her about it rather than taken my anger out on her like that..."

As he trailed off Nate realised how quiet it had become on the other side of the door and prayed to God that meant Mitchie was actually listening to him.  
"Mitchie please. I know your angry and your hurting and you have every right to feel that way but this isn't the way to make things right. It may not feel like it now but trust me I know.  
Whatever happens between the two of you in the future you will look back on this moment and regret it. Trust me when I say that you don't want that on you conscience-I don't want you to suffer the same way I do whenever I look at those I love knowing that I put them all through something so terrible.  
So please Mitchie- just open the door."

Nate held his breath as he waited for Mitchie's reaction. After long agonising seconds he heard the sound of the lock turning and breathed a sigh of relief as the door slowly opened.  
"Thank God! Mitchie-"  
"I got through to them! Shane's said he's on his way..." Jason stopped mid sentence when he noticed Mitchie standing in the open doorway of his bedroom and realised his mistake.

Shocked, Nate stood in the hallway never taking his eyes off the woman in front of him as he waited for her reaction. Jason too turned towards Mitchie and as they waited for her next move he could feel the tension rising.  
They didn't have to wait long and Nate saw it in her eyes before she even said a word. The second he realised she had made up her mind he stepped forward to reach out and try to stop her but she moved way from him.

"Please Mitchie-"  
"Screw you Nate! You really think I'm going to listen to you because you fed me some bullshit story about your family while dumb ass here was off calling Shane? You seriously think I give a shit what you think?"  
"Mitchie-"  
"I'll make you regret this I swear." She hissed menacingly as she slammed the door shit so quickly that they didn't realise what was happened-but not quick enough.

Knowing there were no more chances and Mitchie could no longer be reasoned with Nate immediately rushed at the door before she got the chance to lock it.  
Mitchie screamed angrily from the other side of the door as she tried fight against him and lock the door again but Nate was stronger then her and he soon felt the door move more and more.  
When Jason also began pushing the door Mitchie gave up completely and within seconds the brothers were in the room relieved that she could no longer shut them out the way she had done before. But their relief was short lived.

Mitchie may have given up the fight against them but it didn't mean she had given up all together. Jason and Nate watched with horror as Mitchie shot them a vindictive smile before leaning over and whispering something in Layla's ear.

"No!" Jason growled out knowing whatever she was saying couldn't be good. Racing towards them he tried to pull Mitchie away before she finished what she was saying-but he wasn't quick enough.

The look on Layla's face when Mitchie finally pulled away made Nate and Jason feel like their hearts were shattering into tiny little pieces.  
The sound she made was so gut wrenching, so terrible that it made what they heard earlier sound like it was nothing.  
Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

"You bitch!" Jason roared as he leapt the remaining distance between himself and Mitchie and restrained her before she could do any more damage."What the hell do you think you are doing?"  
Unfortunately he hadn't thought far enough ahead to think about covering her mouth.

"I'm finally putting that dirty lying bitch in her place. I hate her!" She screamed loudly followed by a string of four letter words which only made Layla even more hysterical than she was before.  
"Get her out of here!" Nate just about managed to scream at his brother over Layla's hysterical wailing which only grew louder the longer Mitchie was in the room.  
Nate tried to get her to calm down but even the sight of Mitchie would send her into such hysterics that it took all Nate had to keep her from trying to escape.  
The effort of it all was taking its toll on Layla whose breathing was growing shallower by the second as she tried to breathe through her hysterical sobbing while at the same time resist Nate's hold so that she could try and run away.

Jason didn't need any more encouragement than that and without so much as a word to Mitchie, grabbed her by her waist and flung her over his shoulder as he marched straight out of the room and into the living room; completely oblivious to her threats and demands to put her down.  
"Let me go right now or I swear to God I'll kick your ass!" She screamed at him while violently pummelling his back with her fists and kicking out all over the place in the hopes of hitting him as much as she could.  
Mitchie kicked and screamed the whole way down the hallway, not stopping until Jason eventually let go, dropping her onto the sofa in the living room with such force that she bounced straight back off again,landing on the hardwood floor ass first.

"Ow Jason! What the fu-"  
"What the hell did you say to her?"  
Mitchie stared blankly at him for a moment, a little startled by his clear hostility towards her before smirking evilly at him.  
In any other situation his anger would've scared the hell out of her but not today. Today she found the whole thing rather exciting and with a grin, picked herself up and walked towards him, waiting until she was standing in front of him before speaking again.

"What's the matter Jason? Can't accept the fact that your little whore is damaged goods?"  
The next thing she knew she was pressed against the living room wall, being held up by the collar of her shirt.  
"You say one more word about her and I swear to God I will make it your last."  
She chuckled bitterly not in the least bit scared by his attempt to threaten her.  
"Why? Can't you accept the truth?"

Jason growled angrily and Mitchie could see in his eyes that he wanted to hit her but he stopped himself before he did something he would regret later.  
"Tell me what you said to her right now." He said calmly even though his whole body was shaking with anger and even Mitchie could tell he was barely holding it together.  
She smirked at him again, this time in amusement, as she tried to see how far she could push her mild mannered friend before he finally snapped and let his anger get the better of him.  
"Why should I tell you anything?" She sneered at him, causing his grip to tighten on her shirt.  
His grip was beginning to get uncomfortable and she was starting to find it difficult to breathe but she didn't let on as she continued to provoke a reaction from him.  
"Because right now you telling me what you said to her is the only thing stopping me from kicking your ass!" He growled out at her, his anger growing by the second as she continued to smirk at him as if he was the funniest thing she'd seen in ages.  
Mitchie snorted in amusement and Jason couldn't help but growl angrily at her reaction.  
While Nate might have realised the motives behind Mitchie's behaviour and tolerated it to an extent Jason wasn't as understanding as his brother and felt nothing but hatred towards her.  
Right at that moment he had never hated a person in his life more than he hated the woman currently laughing at him.

"Please Jason! You and I both know that you won't hurt me. It's not your style."  
Mitchie's words hit something within him and he slowly let go of her shirt, letting her fall to the ground.  
"You know you're right. It's more your brother's style isn't it Mitchie?"

Glaring up at him from her position on the floor Mitchie's eyes blazed with anger as she snarled at him.  
"You take that back right now." She growled fiercely, her whole body shaking with anger but Jason did nothing but defiantly remain silent.  
With a loud roar of anger she suddenly kicked his legs out from under him; causing Jason to fall to the ground with a loud bang.

"Shit!" He cursed loudly in pain as his head connected with the hardwood floor beneath him but before he could do anything else Mitchie was on him viciously scratching and clawing at his body while screaming threats of abuse at his face.  
"Take it back!" She demanded fiercely, still trying to inflict as much damage to him as she could before he came to his senses and easily overpowered her.  
"Take it back right now! Take it back or I swear to God-"

"What the hell is going on here?"

Jason sighed with relief when he heard Shane's voice and a couple of seconds later felt Shane and Danny drag her off him, kicking and screaming the entire time as she fought against their hold.

Completely ignoring her husband's demands to know what was going on she continued her tirade of abuse directed at Jason.

"If anyone's a scumbag loser it's your brother!" She shouted at him and Jason's whole body tensed in anger.  
She grinned manically, realising she was provoking a reaction out of him and totally oblivious to her husband's warning to back off she continued.  
" Nate told me what he did to your sister! He told me what he did, how he used Sandy as a punching bag! He's the real monster here not Kyle!"  
"What?" Shane interjected, almost dropping his hold on Mitchie's arm in shock but one look at his best friends' face told him that it wouldn't be the best idea.  
Never in his life had Shane seen him as furiously angry as he was at that moment and he tightened his grip on Mitchie; knowing that if he had the chance Jason wouldn't hesitate to take Mitchie down for what she had just said.  
No one bad mouthed Jason Carter's baby brother and got away with it-not even Mitchie.

"Don't you dare go saying anything about my brother! What happened between him and Sandy is completely different!"  
"Yeah because unlike Nate my brother didn't do anything. That stupid whore got beat up by one of her many low life boyfriends and decided to stick it all on my brother.  
Casey's only crime was trying to show that little bitch up for the liar she really is. They're the innocent ones here-it's people like Layla and Nate who should be punished not them!"  
"That's what you think huh?"  
"That's what I _know_." Mitchie told him without a shadow of a doubt she was right. "I know my brother and I know he would never do something like this."

"And I know my sister."  
Mitchie turned to glare at her husband with disgust.  
"You know nothing. You abandoned her for 7 years. You barely know her."  
"I know she wouldn't lie not to me-not about something like this." He replied with such calmness and confidence that Mitchie was startled by it for a moment before she finally got her act together and covered it up.

Mitchie's look of disgust intensified and she turned away from him unable to look at his face as he defended her to Mitchie's face like she was the one who was the victim here not her brother and sister.  
"Let me guess. She fed you some line about all the bad things my brother did to her and you fell for it hook, line and sinker?"  
"Let me guess your brother told you a pack of lies about how my sister was making it all up to frame him so that he could cover his own ass and you believed him right?"  
"He's telling the truth! Layla's the one who is lying! She got involved in all that crap she was caught up in before she met my brother and rather than face the consequences of her actions she blamed him for it all. He never did any of that stuff to her!"  
"Then who did?"  
"I dunno! Maybe one of her other boyfriends got a little to rough and she didn't want anyone else to know. Maybe it was one of her old friends from before who got angry when she changed her mind I don't know! All I know was that it wasn't Kyle-he wouldn't do something like that!"

Shane shook his head sadly knowing what he was about to say would be harder on her than it would be on anyone else.  
He had been hoping that when the time came she would be calm enough to understand without having to resort to this but it was clear that wasn't going to happen any time soon. He didn't want to do this but...  
"Yes Mitchie he would- and I can prove it."


	54. Chapter 51

**A/N: Hey! No chapters for ages and now two in one day? Crazy! lol anyway hopefully this is the right one. Everything's so messed up with how my chapters are saved at the moment that I keep forgetting which one's which! **  
**Oh well! :P Hope you enjoy and thanks for reading and reviewing!**  
**And just because I haven't done it for a while:**  
**Disclaimer: I don't own Camp Rock or anything associated with it only my own characters and the plot of this story. Thanks!**

* * *

Chapter 51

"So what's this all about Shane? You tell me that you have proof Layla is telling the truth then you stay silent? What the hell is going on?"

Shane's eyes darted around the room towards Jason and Danny before he slightly jerked his head towards the door, indication for them to leave the two of them alone to talk. They were reluctant to do so, both shooting her looks of disgust as they left but eventually the two of them got the message and left, closing the door firmly behind them as they disappeared into the hallway.

"So now they've gone are you gonna show me this proof of yours?" She asked impatiently as Shane continued to glare at her before striding over to the other side of the room. A couple of seconds later he pulled out a light blue folder and threw it towards her.  
Thankful for her quick reflexes Mitchie caught it just before it hit her face and immediately recognised it as the same kind they used at St Anthony's.

"Please tell me this isn't what I think it is!" She demanded angrily knowing that there would be serious trouble if anyone ever found out they had another patients file but she knew before she even saw the marking on the front of it that she was right.  
"Jesus Shane do you realise how much shit you can get into if you get caught with this?"  
"I'm her legal guardian I have a right to these things." He told her, ignoring her scoffs of disbelief and glaring looks as he directed her to a page within the folder.

"While I was waiting for her stomach to get pumped a couple of weeks ago-"  
"What you mean that time when she showed what an upstanding member of society she is by getting completely pissed and running around town dressed like a fairy? But what's that got to do with anything?"  
"_While I was waiting _I looked over her medical file. Most of it seemed pretty ordinary, well as ordinary as it can be for someone with a condition like Layla's, but then things started getting a little weird."  
"Weird how?"  
"Look at her file for the last 18 months."

Mitchie reluctantly opened the folder, trying to ignore just how many rules she was breaking by doing so as she scanned it for the section Shane was talking about.  
"There's nothing apart from scheduled check ups until 12 months ago."  
"Exactly! Nothing out of the ordinary then suddenly she's in for emergency treatment for cuts, bruises, fractures... at one point she was in observation overnight for a fractured skull and concussion for Christ's sake!  
Doesn't that just seem odd to you that she would have no problems at all then around the time that Layla says Kyle abused her she suddenly shows up with all these injuries? He did it Mitchie and this proves it!"

Mitchie stared at him in silence before angrily throwing the folder straight in his face.  
"_This_ is your proof! This proves nothing Shane! _Nothing!_  
Hospitals have policies about suspected abuse victims. They report them, they investigate them, they protect them from further abuse! That's what happens Shane and that never happened here! This was never reported Shane because she was never abused!"  
"But-"  
"Look at her admittance records Shane! Every time she was admitted she told them it was an accident. The extent of the injuries and the effect her condition has on her balance and bone density supports that!  
She got these injuries from dancing for God's sake! Numerous doctors told her to stop and she ignored it so she got hurt!  
These aren't symptoms of abuse-these are symptoms of your sister's stupid mistakes and carelessness for her own safety.  
If you thought you'd get me to change my mind by showing me this then you're just as stupid as your sister!" She yelled at him as she stormed away from him only to be yanked back a second later before she even took a step.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" He demanded as Mitchie ripped her arm from his grasp.  
"I'm going to kick that lying, cheating whore out of my house and out of our lives."  
"You can't do that!"  
"Yes I can and I will. As far as I'm concerned she can rot in the streets for all I care."  
"You don't meant that!"  
"Yes Shane I do! Now if you don't mind." She turned and headed towards the door but before she could open it Shane threw himself in front of it, effectively blocking her way out.

"Shane-"  
"I can't let you go Mitchie. I can't let you make one of the biggest mistakes of your life."  
"_Mistake? _The only one who's making a mistake here is you! Who the hell do you think you are telling me what I should and shouldn't do, trapping me in here like some kind of animal! How dare you!"  
"I'm doing this for your own good Mitchie!" He told her as he bolted the door for extra security before resuming his position in front of it.  
"I can't let you leave, not until we sort this all out."  
"Sort this..." He eyes widened in realisation and she pointed her finger accusingly at him.  
"This is why you sent the others out isn't it? You knew I would see through your bullshit proof so you're gonna beat it into me instead! By sending them away there's no witnesses to deal with am I right?"

Shane swore loudly and shook his head in amazement.  
"Christ Mitchie when you go off on one you don't half make it difficult for yourself! First you trash the place and vandalise Nate's car, then you lock up and torture my sister and to top it all off you accuse me of locking you in here and doing the same thing to you! Nice one Mitchie!"  
"It's not like you haven't done something like this before." She snapped back at him, his tone of voice angering her even more.  
"I know what you and Nate were doing to Jason in that shed!"  
Shane visibly shuddered.  
"God that's a sentence I never wanted to hear." He muttered under his breath and Mitchie glared fiercely at him.  
"This isn't funny Shane! I know what you you two did to him! You harassed him and threatened him until he changed his mind, until he saw things from your point of view. Well that's not gonna happen with me!"  
Mitchie defiantly stared him down, her arms folded across her chest, as if her words had somehow caused him to change his mind and Shane shook his head with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Damn Mitchie! When this is all over you're really going to regret this."  
She snorted as if the thought of regretting anything was the funniest thing she had heard all day.  
"Please! The only thing I regret is not causing that little bitch even more pain than I have already!"  
Shane hissed violently at her words, continuously reminding himself not to hit her as Mitchie smirked evilly at him, knowing that her comment had hit a nerve much like it had done with the other members of Connect 3 when she said the same thing to them.

However her joy at inflicting such pain was short lived as Shane's next remark left her reeling.  
"Jesus you're just as fucked up as your brother aren't you? I shouldn't be surprised really, apart from your dad and Theresa your whole family's a little nutty but at least I expected it with Kyle."  
She gasped in shock before angrily yelling at him.  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
"It means exactly what it sounded like. I knew the second I saw your brother that something wasn't quite right with him-up here."  
Shane tapped the side of his head to emphasise his point and Mitchie glared at him but Shane ignored it as he continued.

"I could tell tell just from the way that he looked at me that he had a couple of screws loose but you...you're clever. You keep all that crazy locked up until one day-boom!"  
He emphasised the noise by miming an explosion with his hands and it was all Mitchie could do to stop herself ripping his hands off and beating him around the head with them.  
"I do not-" Unable to think of a better way to explain herself she copied Shane's actions and gritted her teeth to stop herself from hitting him when she saw him smirking at her.  
"And I am not crazy!"  
"Then explain why you thought that the best way to get your point across was to lock yourself in a room with my sister to mentally and physically torture her rather than sitting down and having a proper conversation with her like any other sane adult?  
Or maybe you can explain why you trapped one of your best friends in his own home then went into a frenzy when he wouldn't give you what you wanted?  
How about you explain to me why I found Nate's car trashed, Layla's room in a mess and you clawing the face off Jason like some kind of wild animal.  
You're the medical expert here Mitchie. Tell me-does that sound normal to you?"

The room was deathly quiet as Shane let his words sink in. Minutes of silence passed as Shane watched her biting her bottom lip, her face drawn in thought as she tired to think things over before she finally answered.  
"Okay you're right." She relented but only slightly, still adamant that she wasn't completely in the wrong.  
"Looking back on it I may not have behaved appropriately but that doesn't mean my actions weren't justifiable."  
He stared at her in utter disbelief unable to comprehend how she could possibly think what she had done was right.  
"Justifiable? You lock yourself in a room with the girl your sister just viciously attacked and you think treating her like you did and making things worse is justifiable?"  
"For God's sake Shane she's lying to you! Why can't you see that? She's lying to you Shane, she's been lying to you all along!  
None of this stuff she's talking about is true! Kyle never even touched her! She's just making this all up to get your attention!"  
"_My attention?_ How the hell is telling me something like that going to get _my attention_?"

Mitchie stared at him in amazement, unable to believe he didn't get it when it was as clear as day to her.  
"God Shane! Don't you see? You're doing it right now! You said so yourself she wanted nothing to do with you when you picked her up and even less when she found out you were married to me."  
"I don't get what that's got to do with anything!"  
"Think about it Shane! She's jealous! She's jealous that after years of waiting for you to show up again she's no longer the only girl in your life. After years of waiting for the one person you loved unconditionally to come back only to find they love someone else-that's enough to drive anyone into a jealous fit of rage.  
That's why she's behaving this way! Not because of my brother but because of her own irrational jealousy!"  
"Oh come on Mitchie that's bullshit and you know it!"  
"Is it? Is it really? Layla says nothing to anyone about knowing my family then you and Layla have that massive bust up and suddenly it's my brother who is to blame for everything!"  
"That's because he is the one to blame for everything! He caused all this!"  
"Really? Because from what I've seen and heard it's Layla who started all this.  
Right from the beginning she lied to everyone she supposedly loved, she let them believe she was someone she wasn't and when she got tired of it all she made up all those lies about Kyle abusing her.  
But that wasn't enough. She hadn't made him suffer enough for realising she wasn't good enough and dumping her useless ass so she made up another lie-this time one which was sure to make him suffer and give her all the attention she wanted.  
She told the police that it was him who attacked her that night and left her in the alleyway to bleed to death."  
"That's because he did!"  
"No Shane he didn't. He and Layla had split up weeks before she was attacked. They no longer went to the same school, they didn't move in the same social circles and they lived on opposite sides of town. They never came in contact with each other that night."  
"Then who was it? If Kyle didn't do it-who did?"

Mitchie shrugged slightly, she'd had a lot of time to think this through since she'd cornered her mother and younger siblings and forced them into telling her the truth but she hadn't gone into much detail over the facts that directly affected them-this was one of those factors she hadn't considered.  
"I dunno probably someone from Layla's past. She said so herself she was mixed up in some crazy shit before she straightened herself out. From what Kyle tells me her sudden disappearance from the scene pissed a lot of people off.  
Without Kyle there to protect her it wouldn't be difficult for one of them to get to her."  
"If that was true then why did she blame Kyle?"  
"Why did she get that friend of hers to beat him up? Why did she file a restraining order against him? Why did she crash his car then flaunt herself in front of him? The list of things she does which can't be explained goes on and on but it all leads to one thing.  
Kyle dumped her so she got her revenge by screwing up his life in whatever way she could. Then you come back with a brand new life and me replacing her as the most important person in your life. On top of that I just so happen to be the sister of the guy who dumped her? Well that's just the icing on the cake now isn't it?"  
"I don't get it. Why would she do something like that?"  
"Revenge Shane. She wanted to get back at us for what we did to her."  
"But we didn't do anything-not on purpose we didn't!"  
"Not to her! To her everything bad that's ever happened to her in her life is all down to you, me and my family."

"But why would she think that? It just doesn't make sense!" Shane shouted out angrily, unable to comprehend why his sister would do such a thing.  
"It doesn't make sense because you don't want it to! You want things to be the way they were before but it's not like that.  
You left her Shane. You left her all alone when she needed you the most. What better way is there to get revenge then to ruin the life you worked so hard to make for yourself.  
She splits us up, creates this massive fallout between us all and suddenly she's all you have left, all you have to fall back on, then she leaves. To go back to Cassie, to go to college who knows but she leaves and you are left feeling the exact same way she did when you disappeared 7 years ago.  
She's probably had something planned like this all along it's just a bonus that I'm Kyle's sister. Face it Shane. She's been playing you from the moment you picked her up from the home."  
"No. She wouldn't do something like that- not to me."  
"The old Layla wouldn't but she died the moment you left her behind. You're dealing with LJ now and this is exactly the kind of thing that she would do."

Shane opened his mouth to protest but found that he couldn't. After all what Mitchie said did make some sense.  
When she was younger Layla was always desperate for attention especially from Shane and the guys. Was it really that hard to believe that she would feel threatened enough by Mitchie to come up with something like this?  
And what about the Torres'?  
Shane still found it difficult to believe that they had managed to keep something as big as this hidden so well for so long. Maybe the reason they'd been able to was because it never really happened? Maybe Layla had made all this up just like Mitchie had said to get back at them all for what they did to her and it was Shane they were hiding the truth from not Mitchie so that he would never have to find out what his sister was really like?

He groaned loudly as if in pain as he buried his head in his hands, unable to believe this was happening to him. He finally thought he had his family back and now...  
"God how could I have been so blind? I always expected it to be difficult when she got back but this? I should've realised she would do something like this!"  
Mitchie sighed deeply, feeling her sadness for him override any anger she still felt as she patted his shoulder sympathetically.  
"I'm sorry things turned out this way Shane, I really am. I know you had your heart set on getting the old Layla back and living happily ever after but sometimes dreams aren't meant to become reality."  
"What am I supposed to do Mitchie?" She looked up at her, his face drawn in anguish at the decisions he now had to make. "She's my sister Mitchie I can't just-"  
"Shane you and I both know there is only one option here. You have to send her back to Sunflower House."

Shane began to protest but Mitchie continued without giving him the chance to get a word in.  
"From what Layla's been saying she made a pretty good life for herself over the last couple of months. She has friends, a family and plans for the future which have nothing to do with being the sister of a famous singer and you have the life you always wanted for yourself.  
Maybe the best thing for both of you is to go back to the way things were before you came back for her."  
"No." Shane insisted firmly as he began to pace the length of the room, hoping it would help him think clearly enough to make sense of all this and come up with a better solution than sending Layla back.  
" I can't do that again. None of us would survive it a second time."

"But things are different this time around. You're all a lot older now-more mature! You've been through this before so you know what to expect and this time around you'll have us to support you when things get tough."  
"And what about Layla? Who will be there to support her when she realises she's been abandoned again? Who will she have to look after her if we're not there for her any more?"  
"She won't be alone Shane. Cassie and the others have been there for the last 7 years; they won't desert her now. She'll be fine Shane-you all will.  
The sooner you get back to the way things used to be the better it'll be for everyone-you'll see."

Shane nodded silently unable to think of anything to say as Mitchie smiled supportively and gathered him into a hug.  
At first he resisted it, the emotional overload of what was happening making him feel like he wanted to run away screaming from any form of contact but eventually he stopped; resting his chin on top of her head as he relaxed and hugged her back, grateful for her just being there.  
That's when he saw it.  
The picture Brown had taken of them all on the rare day that the sun was shining and they weren't fighting between themselves for once since Layla's arrival.  
They all looked so happy together that it was difficult to believe it had all been a lie.

In fact it was damn near impossible...


End file.
